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Foreword 

Realizing the increasing difficulty of obtaining 
data for a family history, these records have been col- 
lected and compiled for the benefit of my son, Herbert 
Bowers Brush, and other younger members of the 
family and for childrens' children yet to come, in the 
confident hope that the knowledge that their ancestors 
were among those who with fortitude and courage, 
amid the hardships of pioneer life and the perils of 
war, lived in the fear of God and the love of home and 
country, will stimulate them to high purposes and de- 
votion to duty to God, to home and native land. 

Lovingly dedicated to my son Herbert Bowers 
Brush. 

Maria Annette Brush. 
Brooklyn, N. Y., 1904. 



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Note 

The original immigrants of all the families whose 
records are given here came to the colonies in the 
earliest years, 1620-1660. They were of English par- 
entage and came to New England, except the Van 
Wvcks, who came from Holland to New Amsterdam. 
The task of tracing the several families back to the 
original settlers in America has been comparatively 
easv in most cases, but finding the English ancestors 
was far more difficult. A number of extracts from 
English records are given which may be useful if any 
wish to pursue the search in the mother country. 

The family name of the mother of Herbert B. 
Brush was Bowers. With the records of the Brush 
and Bowers families are included collateral branches 
as follows : 

Page Page 

Brush Descent 7 Bowers Descent 92 

Rogers 42 Brooks 98 

Whitman 45 Boutelle 102 

Wood 47 Baldwin 106 

Van Wyck 50 Wellman no 

Carman 62 Wellman (Chloe) .... 112 

Bloomfield 68 Bancroft 113 




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The Brush Family 

ROBERT DE BRUS went to England with the 
Conqueror in 1066, where his son Robert's 
name was changed to Bruce. Genealogists say 
that from this French De Brus or De Brewes, are de- 
rived the English names of Bruse, Bruce, Bush and 
Brush. (See "Fauconberge Memorial," 62, "Family 
Records of the Braces and Comeygns," by M. E. 
Cummings, and Hinman's "Early Settlers in Connec- 
ticut.") 

As an illustration of the variations of the name and 
possibly indicating the source from which the family in 
this country sprang, the following extracts may be of 
interest : William de Brus was in "Heworth, a mile to 
the north of Aycliffe. His son, Adam de Brus, held 
the vill by Knights service" and payment of a small 
sum. William Brus, 1354, "then styled Chivalier, held 
the Manor of Heworth by the fourth part of a Knight's 
fee and 40s. William Bruys, son and heir, 1381. Rob- 
ert Bruys, sold the estate in 1435." (Surtee's "Dur- 
ham," vol. III.) 

One George Brush was in Woburn, Mass., in 1657, 
who was said to be of Scotch descent. Of his descend- 
ants, Sewall, in his "History of Woburn" says "they 
have long spelled the name Bruce." Again he refers 
to "Brushes now turned into Bruces." * 

* Hon. Wallace Bruce, of Brooklyn, N. Y., the celebrated poet, 
writer, and lecturer, is descended from this family. 



GENEALOGY 

Doubtless the name appears in many European 
languages in varying forms. (See statement of Prof. 
George J. Brush in Addenda to this account). Some 
changes and confusion may have arisen if, as is quite 
probable, some of the name went to Holland at the 
time of the persecution of the Puritans, before em- 
igrating to America. The family on Long Island have 
preserved the one form of spelling as far as known. 
* Thomas (i) Brush, according to "Huntington 
Town Records," was born in England, probably about 
1610, and came to this country before 1653, as he is 
recorded as owning a lot in Southold, Suffolk County, 
in that year. Southold was probably named from 
Southwold, Suffolk County, England. In 1640 the 
New Haven colony purchased the land from the In- 
dians, and settled Southold, which, with the towns of 
New Haven, Milford, Guilford, Branford and Stam- 
ford, formed a federation for mutual protection, "the 
jurisdiction of which appears to have been fully or- 
ganized in 1643." "Most (not all) of the planters came 
from Hingham, Norfolkshire, Eng., in 1640" to South- 
old, and here, in 1642, the first meetinghouse was built. 
The Indian name for the place was Yennicock (Shinne- 
cock). (Lambert's "History of New Haven.") 
Thomas (1) witnessed a will in Southold in 1656, ac- 
cording to "N. H. Records," and attended town meet- 
ing there in 1660. He was a "freeman of Conn." in 
1664. (Only members of a church could become free- 
men and take part in the management of the affairs of 
town or colony.) In 1656 or 1657 he came to Hunting- 

* Names in small capitals indicate direct descent. 

8 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

ton, having "sold his home at Southold to Thomas 
Mapes, his wife Rebecca assenting." This place was 
afterward sold to the Young family, then to the Booths 
and later to the Jennings, one of whom died in 1847 
and left it to his son, Hezekiah. 

Thomas ( 1 ) was the ancestor of all who were of 
Huntington. About 1665 he, with two others, was 
sent by the "Inhabitants of Huntington with an Indian 
called Chickinoe to The South Meadow" to find and fix 
the boundaries of some land, bought from the Massa- 
pague Indians. 

Rebecca, wife of Thomas (1) Brush, was daughter 
of John Conclyne, who was said to have come from 
Nottinghamshire, England, and was received as 
an "inhabitant of Salem, Mass., 14th of 7th month 
1640," where four acres of land were allotted to him 
in 1649. (Town Records of Salem, Massachusetts.) 
He must have been an active man, as he is said to have 
"identified himself with every new enterprise, with 
zeal and energy, and soon became the cynosure of all 
the village," also "strong pillar of the church." (Rec- 
ords of Southold.) He is supposed to have been born 
about 1600. He died in 1683. The name is spelled 
also Conklin and Conkling. 

Thomas ( 1 ) Brush was one of the proprietors of 
Huntington, according to a list made in 1672. He 
died in 1675 and his son, Thomas (2), administered 
upon his estate in 1677, the children acknowledging 
the receipt of £50 13s. each. Besides the son, 
Thomas (2), already referred to, there were Rich- 
ard (2), 



GENEALOGY 

John (2), and Rebecca (2), who married Jeremiah 
Hobart, or Hubbard, February 8, 1682. The family 
came from Hingham, Norfolk, England, and were 
"first settlers" of Hingham, Mass. Bishop Peter Ho- 
bart, of Norwich, England, and Bishop J. H. Hobart, 
of New York, who was buried under the chancel of old 
Trinity Church, New York City, were both of this 
family. John (2) Brush, son of Thomas (1) and Re- 
becca, was born about 1650 and his name appears on 
the town records of Huntington, in 1673. In a deed 
given by him in 1676, he described himself as "John 
Brush of Huntington, upon long Island in Yorksheer, 
husbandman." In 1681 he obtained land described as 
being on "ye street end southward" and a "certain 
parcell of medow on a neck called Necundetaug." 

(This latter piece remained in the possession of 
the family until after the death of John R. (7) Brush, 
in 1884.) John (2) Brush, in 1682, received a grant 
of land on West Neck, and in 1684 he bought several 
parcels of land in Huntington, covered by one deed, 
given by Benj. Smith. In 1685 an d in 1690 he received 
grants of land. "In 1698, with two others he received 
on behalf of three Assosuates of ye towne of Hunting- 
ton on Long Island, Ales Nasaw, in province of New 
York, In ameroca" from "wameas and Charles pane- 
maquand" certain lands in East Neck, the Indians 
signing their marks at the end. 

From 1693 to 1714 John (2) was constable or town 
trustee most of the time. In 171 1 he, with his sons, 
gave £5 toward the building of the Presbyterian 
Church. The old one, built in 1665, was demolished, 

10 




First Presbyterian Church of Huntington, L. I. Attended by the Family 
for About Two Centuries. This is the Third Edifice and was 

Built in 1784. 



GENEALOGY 

and the new one built in 171 5, on the site of the 
present edifice. The long delay between the subscrip- 
tion and the actual building was caused by division as 
to the location of the church, some desiring to rebuild 
on the old site "in the hollow," the frame was 
set up there and afterward removed to "East Hill." 
It was occupied by the British as a barracks in 1777. 
Torn down and materials used to erect Fort Golgotha 
on burying ground Hill, by order of Count Rumford, 
1782. Present building erected 1784. 

The wife of John (2) Brush was Elizabeth, 
daughter of Isaac Piatt. Isaac and Epenetus were sons 
of Richard Piatt, who came from Hertfordshire, Eng- 
land, to America, in 1638. He was in New Haven 
that same year and died there in 1684. Isaac was a 
grantee of Huntington and held various official posi- 
tions there. John (2) and Elizabeth Brush had several 
sons, two of whom, Isaac (3) and Samuel (3), had 
some controversy as to caring for their aged father in 
January, 1740. A few weeks later John (2) gave to 
his son Samuel (3) "for love and affection" one hun- 
dred and twenty-five acres at or near the West 
Hills and other pieces of land on the "southside," 
also one-half of his right in the "undivided" 
(common) land in town. He probably died soon 
after and tradition says was buried on the "old bury- 
ing hill." 

The son, Isaac (3), referred to above, was a lawyer 
and an Episcopalian. The church of that denomination 
was not built there until 1784, but a mission was started 
as early as 1754, and Isaac (3) was buried in the 

12 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

churchyard in 1758. His gravestone was still legible 
in 1896. 

Samuel (3) Brush, son of John (2), was next in 
the line, but the date of his birth is not known, nor the 
name of his first wife. He joined the Presbyterian 
Church at Huntington July 29, 1730. (See church 
records.) He had seven daughters and three sons, ac- 
cording to the record in the old familv Bible. Late 
in life he married Martha, widow of John Titus, whose 
maiden name was Hugins. She was born in 17 14 at 
Oyster Bay. (After the death of Samuel (3) Brush 
she was married a third time, to Hunter John Wood. ) 
.From 1 734- 1 763 Samuel (3) held some town office, 
that of trustee, assessor or commissioner of highways. 
In 1 76 1 he deeded his homestead to his son Ananias (4) 
the deed being still in the family. 

His will, dated March 17, 1764, he begins by de- 
scribing himself as "yeoman, in health of body and 
sound of mind and memory, for which favor and bless- 
ing I have reason to be truly thankful to the Almighty, 
and well knowing that I must soon yeild to Death, am 
willing to set my house in order before I Die, do make 
and ordain this to be my last will and Testament. I 
bequeath to my loving wife, all and every article that 
my said loving wife brought into my estate, also my 
brown horse and riding chair, and also all provisions 
that is laid up for the family's use for the year, also 
my negro wench, Jane, T give the free use of to my 
wife during my wife's natural life and provided said 
wench outlives my wife, I give her to my three daugh- 
ters Bersheby, Pheby and Elizabeth. To my loving 

13 



GENEALOGY 

wife, six good sheep and two hogs, as she shall choose. 
To my daughter Bersheby one-fourth part of my Per- 
sonal estate. To my daughter Pheby Fleat also one 
silver tankard in lieu of £14, it shall be accounted as 
so much received, of her share of one-quarter part." 
He also mentions the children of his deceased daugh- 
ter Mary Piatt, wife of Jesse Piatt. To his "daughter 
Elizabeth Conkling one cow as she shall choose and one 
quarter of my moveable estate. I will and bequeath 
to my executors a piece of land which I have lying 
joining to Joseph Ireland's land at West Hills to be 
sold" the money therefrom to be given to the two 
daughters, Pheby Fleat and Elizabeth Conkling. 
"Item, I give and bequeath to my son Ananias Brush 
my house and land and Improvements and all apperte- 
nances which I bought of Jonas Brush, also a piece of 
wood-land westward of where he now lives in Cold 
Spring Hollow, also a piece of woodland joining to 
land lately owned by Thomas Oquerly ( Oakley) De- 
ceased, being a piece of land called Stephen Lott." To 
his son, John, he leaves thirtv acres. To "son Ananias 
all meadows and land and Rights on neck at the South 
called Neguntetauge," also ten acres on Jericho Plains, 
"and one hundred rights in Old Purchase of Hunting- 
ton and all my right on Hempstead Plain." 'To my 
son Jesse Brush the house and lands where I now live 
and all other lands excepting those already disposed of 
to my son John." Executors were his son John (4) 
Brush and his "friend" Joseph Ireland. These extracts 
were made from the will in the Surrogate's Office in 
New York City. The grave of Samuel (3) is believed 

14 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

to be the earliest one in the family cemetery on the 
farm:* 

Jesse (4) Brush, son of Samuel (3), was born in 
1737 and was prominent as a patriot in the Revolution- 
ary war. He was a Major in the First Suffolk County 
Regiment, Colonel Floyd, and in consequence, his 
property was confiscated, as was the case of all who re- 
fused to take the oath of allegiance. A large majority 
of the inhabitants of Suffolk did take the oath. 
Jesse (4) Brush sent the following warning to the 
usurpers who had taken possession of his farm August 
25, 1780: "I have repeatedly ordered you especially 
April 15, to leave my farm. This is the last invitation. 
If you do not, your next landfall will be in a warmer 
climate than you have ever lived in yet. Twenty days 
you have to make your escape." Major Brush is de- 
scribed as "a small, well-built man with red hair, sandy 
complexion and bold as a lion." He was appointed by 
a committee to lay before the Provincial Congress, "the 
state of the town of Huntington in 1775, as to their 
slackness and indifference in the great contest and to 
ask advice and assistance from Congress." In "His- 
toric Huntington," issued on the 250th anniversary of 
the settlement of the town, July 4, 1903, he is men- 

' The property mentioned in the foregoing will as devised to Jesse 
(4) Brush included the house where Samuel (3) died, which stood near 
the house of Israel Oakley, a short distance east of the Brush family 
burying ground. The old house was torn down about 1855. The 
homestead, given by deed of 1761 to Ananias (4), was the one where 
he and his son Zophar (5) lived and died, and where John R. (7) Brush 
lived from 1823 to 1845. when he built the house now in use. All his 
children except Zophar (8), the youngest, having been born in the old 
house. Zebvlon (6). son of Zophar (5), lived at the foot of the road 
which passes the house of John R. (7) Brush. 

15 



GENEALOGY 

tioned among the "Famous Men" as "one of the brav- 
est and most stubborn patriots. He was captured at 
Smithtown in 1780 and held prisoner in a New York 
jail for a month. The name of Brush was especially 
hated by the British and no one bearing it was treated 
with any consideration." 

Ananias (4) was born 1721, and March 24, 1743, 
married Mary, daughter of Daniel Kelsey, who was 
born September 14, 1682. Daniel was son of Stephen 
and Hannah (Ingersoll) Kelsey, of Hartford, Connec- 
ticut, who were married in 1672. Stephen's father, 
William, moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut 
and was one of the proprietors of Hartford. Hannah 
Ingersoll, born 1652, was daughter of John and Dor- 
othy (Lord) Ingersoll, who were married in 1651. 
Dorothy Lord, born in 163 1, was the sixth child of 
Thomas and Dorothy Lord, who came from London 
with their six children in the "Elizabeth and Ann" in 
1635. (See Hotton's "Lists of Early Emigrants, 1600- 
1700.") He was also an original proprietor of Hart- 
ford. Daniel Kelsey came to Huntington shortly be- 
fore building his house there in 171 2. He was for many 
years a trustee of the town. His will is in the Surro- 
gate's Office in New York City, and is dated 1761. In 
it he bequeaths "to my daughter Mary, wife to Ananias 
Brush" a third part of his movable estate. He signed 
his name "Daniel Kellcye." 

From a fragment of a commission found among the 
old papers, it appears that in 1760 Lieut. Gov. James 
De Lancey issued a Lieutenant's commission to An- 
anias (4) Brush in a company of Foot, commanded 

by Capt. Thomas Jarvis. 

16 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Ananias (4) died March 3, 1794, and in his will 
mentions his "wife Judith Brush and her daughter 
Rebecca" showing* that he married a second time, a 
widow to whom he walls "all the goods and furniture, 
or the value of such as are e'one, that she brought to 
me at the time we were married, agreeable to a writing 
then made between us." "Also all the linnen and Bed- 
ding that hath been made since we lived Together," 
and £120, instead of dower. "Also £100 to Stephen 
Brush the son of my son Nathaniel, deceased." His 
executors were empowered to sell all his estate "except 
the rights in the undivided," which he gave to his son 
Zophar ( 5 ). The term "undivided" undoubtedly refers 
to the common town lands, which were used in common, 
according" to certain vested rights. The remainder of 
the estate Ananias ( 4 ) desired to be divided between 
the three children, Zophar (5), Susannah (5) 
Ketcham and Phebe ( 5 ) Conkling. Executors were 
Zophar (5) Brush and Henry Townsend. This paper 
and an inventory have been preserved among the family 
documents at the old homestead. Nathaniel (5) had 
died between 1783-89 and Zophar (5) had bought 
his share of the property in 1789 of the widow Hannah, 
who afterward married a Whitman. 

Zophar (5) Brush was born at West Hills in 1748, 
baptized March 20 (Presbyterian Church records), 
and in 1773 married Margaret, daughter of Zebulon 
and Margaret (Van Wyck) Whitman. (See Whitman 
Family). They had one son, Zebulon (6), and one 
daughter, Mary (6), who married Timothy Oakley. 

Margaret, wife of Zophar (5), was a kind, motherly 

17 



GENEALOGY 

woman who did much for her grandchildren, who were 
early left motherless by the death of the daughter, 
Mary (6) (Brush) Oakley, and that of Elizabeth 
(Rogers), the wife of Zebulon (6). She took the 
little son of her daughter Mary (6), whose name was 
Zophar Brush (7) Oakley, and the little Betsey (7), 
daughter of Zebulon (6) and Elizabeth Brush, and 
brought them up in her own home. After her death in 
1 82 1 the other grandson, John R. (7) Brush, went 
from his father's home to live with his grandfather, 
Zophar (5), who lived to be ninety-five years old, cared 
for by John R. (7) Brush and his wife. In recognition 
of this fact he divided his farm, giving one-half to his 
son, Zebulon (6), and the other to the grandson, John 
R. (7). 

Zophar (5) Brush is remembered by his great-grand- 
children as a large man with fair complexion, who 
suffered many years from rheumatism which confined 
him to the house. The following extract is from his 
will, written in 1839: "I give and bequeath to my son 
Zebulon Brush my chest of drawers, two tables, one 
chest and six wooden bottom chairs. I give and be- 
queath to my grandson Zophar Brush Oakley, the bed- 
stead that stands in the east room with the bed, bolster 
and pillows, one pare of sheets and one bombazet bed- 
quilt. I give and bequeath to my grandson John 
Rogers Brush, a tract of land lying on the north 
side of and adjoining the Huntington and 
Southampton turnpike road, bounded on the north by 
the land of John Hendrickson and Samuel Walters 
being about one acre more or less, and to his heirs and 

18 



BRUSH— BOWERS 



assigns. I also give to my said grandson John R. Brush 
all my stock and poultry of every description, all my 
farming utensils, my looking-glass, clock* and the 
half of the residue of my linen and also the bedstead 
in the west room with the curtains and the remainder of 
my woolen bedding. I give and bequeath to my grand- 
daughter Elizabeth my blue and white coverlid, and 
also the sum of one hundred dollars. I give and be- 
queath to my grand-daughter Amelia Brush my small 
silver spoons and to my grand-daughter Mary Brush 
my large silver spoons. And I give and bequeath the 
other half of my linen to my said grand-daughters to 
be divided between them. I give and bequeath to my 
great-grandsons Jarvis Brush, Samuel Brush, Abner 
Brush and Jesse Brush, the children of my grandson 
John R. Brush, the sum of five hundred dollars each, 
and if any of my said great-grandsons should die under 
the age of twenty-one years, I give and bequeath the 
portion or portions of such as shall so die to the sur- 
vivors, to be equally divided between them. I give and 
bequeath the residue of my personal property, not above 
disposed of, if any such there be, to my grandson, John 
R. Brush. Executors, John R. Brush and Samuel Wal- 
ters." 

No mention is made in this will of the principal 
part of his real estate, for the reason that it had al- 
ready been equally divided and deeded to his son Zebu- 
Ion (6) Brush and his grandson John R. (7) Brush. 
In a previous will dated in 1805, he gives to his wife 



. — 1 



^v 



k This clock is now in the possession of George W. Brush, a ureat- 
grandson of the testator. 



19 



GENEALOGY 

Margaret, a black girl, showing him to have, been a 
slaveholder at that time. 

Zebulon Brush (6) was born at West Hills Oct. 

24, 1777, and married Elizabeth, daughter of John, Jr., 
and Ruth( Wood) Rogers, of Huntington, on Jan. 

25, 1800. (See Rogers Family.) They lived on his 
part of his father's farm at West Hills, the house 
standing at the foot of the hill, on the turnpike, near the 
Huntington road. They had two children, John 
Rogers ( 7 ) and Elizabeth (7), and then the young 
wife and mother died, in 1803. Later, Zebulon (6) 
married Susannah Sammis and they had seven chil- 
dren, Jesse (7), Jonas (7), George (7), Gilbert (7), 
Amelia (7), Mary (7), and Susanna (7). Eliza- 
beth (7), who was called Betsey, went to the home of 
her grandfather, Zophar(5) Brush, as before men- 
tioned, where she lived until married to John Van 
Wyck. Although Zebulon (6) was a delicate man, an 
invalid most of his life, he was interested in public 
affairs, as shown by the record that he was Inspector 
of Schools in 1827, and he was a regular attendant of 
the Presbyterian Church in Huntington for many 
years. He died in 1861, aged eighty-four. He was an 
excellent talker, especially upon religious subjects. He 
divided his property, almost entirely, among the chil- 
dren of his second marriage. To his daughter, Eliza- 
beth (7) (Brush) Van Wyck he left a legacy of five 
hundred dollars. After the death of his wife and the 
breaking up of his home, he spent some years at the 
homes of his children ; the last year or more he was 
with his son, John R. (7), who, with his family, es- 

20 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

pecially his eldest daughter, Mary (8), cared for him 
in his last illness. His grave is in the family ceme- 
tery. 

John Rogers (7) Brush was born January 10, 
1 80 1, at West Hills. He probably attended school only 
a few years, but exercises in writing, arithmetic and 
surveying prove that he was a proficient scholar as far 
as his opportunities permitted. He was fond of music, 
and taught it at one time. On Jan. 23, 1823, he mar- 
ried Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary (Bloom- 
field) Carman. (See Carman and Bloomfield Famil- 
ies.) In 1826 he was commissioned as Lieutenant, 
and in 1829 as Captain in the 137th Regiment, New 
York State Militia, as commissions now in the family, 
signed by Governors De Witt Clinton and E. T. Throop 
certify. 

Among his papers was found the following, bearing 
date October 25, 1829: "Having united myself to 
the Christian church I do feel determined that, let 
others do as they will, I will serve the Lord, having on 
said day made a public profession of Religion. 

"(Signed.) John R. Brush/' 

The church referred to was the First Presbyterian 
at Huntington, four miles distant from the homestead 
at West Hills, which he attended faithfully ever after, 
training up his children to go with him. He was 
deacon and elder for many years. Ten children were 
born to John R. (7) and Elizabeth Brush, viz.. Jar- 
vis (8), Samuel (8), Abner (8), Jesse (8), Mary Eliz- 
abeth (8), Margaret (8), Phebe Ann (8), John (8), 

21 



GENEALOGY 

George Washington (8), and Zophar (8), all of whom 
grew to maturity and became professing Christians. 

The father of this family was an unusually intelli- 
gent, energetic man ; conscientious in the performance 
of every duty. He had an excellent memory and could 
relate incidents with great accuracy after the passage 
of many years, thoroughly enjoying a good story. 
In business he was indefatigable, working early and 
late. He abhorred debt and while he did not accumu- 
late a fortune he brought up his large family, giving 
to his children every opportunity for education and ad- 
vancement in his power. He also instilled into their 
minds his ideas of industry, integrity, religious prin- 
ciple and patriotism. He was always ready to per- 
form his duties as a citizen, driving four miles to vote 
about two weeks before his death. When the national 
crisis came, at the breaking out of the War of the 
Rebellion, he cheerfully assented when two of his sons, 
John (8) and George (8), decided to enter the army. 
Afterwards a third son, Jesse (8), went as chaplain 
of the 158th Regiment, New York Volunteers. 

Physically, he was slightly above medium height, 
with fair complexion and blue eyes; enjoyed robust 
health even in his later vears, when he had become 
considerably bent, but he retained all of his faculties 
and continued his duties until within a weeek of his 
death, which was from paralysis, Nov. 17, 1884, in 
his eighty-fourth year. He spent his whole life on the 
old place, never having travelled farther than to Phil- 
adelphia, whither he went in 1876 to attend the Cen- 
tennial Exposition. 

22 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

In 1873, the "golden wedding" of John R. (7) and 
Elizabeth Brush was celebrated, by the children and 
grandchildren, brothers and sisters and all relatives 
near enough to attend, at the old homestead, twenty- 
five being entertained over night, beside neighbors and 
friends, who returned to their homes. Congratulations 
and good wishes, music and a poem written for the 
occasion, by Mrs. Jesse Brush, golden gifts and mem- 
ories of "Auld Lang Syne," made an ever-memorable 
occasion. At the time, it was scarcely hoped that the 
golden bond could long continue unbroken, but when, 
in 1883, ten years had rolled away, leaving the old 
couple but slightly changed, a smaller family gather- 
ing again took possession of the old home, to cele- 
brate the happy anniversary. Nearly two years passed 
before the separation came, which was but for a few 
months, one dying in December and the other the fol- 
lowing June. 

Jarvis (8), their eldest child, was born Dec 9, 1823, 
and Jan. 16, 1845, ne married Mary Ann, daughter of 
Elias and Ann (Parlee) Brush, of West Hills. The 
family was distantly related, being descendants of 
Richard (2), the second son of Thomas (1), of South- 
old and Huntington. Jarvis (8) died May 20, 1850, 
leaving two children, Clarkson J. (9), who died in 
1863, and Susan A. (9), now Mrs. Joseph Barker, of 
Brooklyn, who has three children, John, Jessie and 
Ethel. Jarvis' widow married Valentine Brush. 

Samuel (8) was born Dec. 25, 1825, and Jan. 1, 
1849, married Hannah Maria, daughter of Thomas 
Park and Hannah Burr (Farnsworth) Reed, of Har- 

23 



GENEALOGY 

vard, Massachusetts. He was a merchant who lived 
most of his life in Brooklyn, where he identified him- 
self with church and mission work, being especially 
interested in temperance reforms. He died at Cran- 
ford, New Jersey, May 14, 1893. Their two children, 
Edmond Wheeler (9) and Anna Emmeline (9), died 
in infancy. 

Abner (8), born Feb. 19, 1828, was educated at the 
town academy and at Amenia (N. Y.) Seminary, 
where he pursued the classical course and was nearly 
ready for college when he left it on account of ill 
health. April 29, 1854, he married Amy Jane, daugh- 
ter of Henry and Teresa (Mitchell) Miller, of Brook- 
lyn. He taught school for a time, but was most of 
his life a merchant. His health was not strong, but 
quiet, regular habits enabled him to bear his part in 
business and church relations. When health permitted, 
he served in various official capacities in church and 
Sunday school work. He died Feb. 6, 1889. His only 
child, Annie Elizabeth (9), married Edward A. John- 
son, Sept. 24, 1884, and lives at Cranford, New Jersey. 
She has three children, Henry Miller (10), born 1885, 
Alice Dean (10), born 1886, and Louise Chandler 
(10), born 1 901. Edward A. Johnson died Oct. 20, 
1902. 

Jesse (8) was born June 11, 1830. He went to 
Amenia Seminary and graduated with honor as vale- 
dictorian of his class from the University of New 
York. He studied law, but later chose the profes- 
sion of the ministry and graduated from Union Theo- 
logical Seminary. He married Ellen, daughter of Rev. 

24 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Harvey and Alethea Newcomb, Aug. 3, 1859. He was 
settled over churches in Stamford, New Britain and 
Saybrook, Connecticut. After some years he decided 
to change from the Presbyterian to the Episcopalian 
church, and is now rector at the Church Home, Buf- 
falo, Xew York. In 1894 his wife died. In 1904, the 
fiftieth anniversary of his graduation, the university 
conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Divinity. 

He has three sons, Edward Hale (9), Henry Wells 
(9), and George Robert (9). Edward Hale (9) grad- 
uated from Columbia College, and is a journalist. 
He married Elizabeth Jennings Feb. 1, 1904. Henry 
Wells (9) is a lawyer in Buffalo. He married Frances 
Hager, Dec. 25, 1896. George Robert (9) is a grad- 
uate of Hobart College and of the General Theologi- 
cal Seminary of New York. He is an Episcopalian 
clergyman at Rochester, New York. He married 
Josephine Taylor of Waterbury, Vermont, in 1899. 
They have two children, Anna Sherman (10), 1902, 
and Edward Newcomb (10), 1904. 

Mary Elizabeth (8) was born July 26, 1832, and in 
1852 married Thomas Price, of Northport, L. I. She 
died in 1874, leaving one son, Frank E. Price (9), 
now of Montana. 

Margaret (8) was born Dec. 19, 1834. She at- 
tended Airs. Harvey Newcomb's school in Brooklyn 
and had a private school in New York City for several 
years. Since 1874 she has made her home with her 
brother, George W. (8). She has rendered valuable 
service in gathering data for some of these family 
sketches. 

25 



GENEALOGY 

Phebe Ann (8) was born July 14, 1837. After 
attending boarding school at Port Jervis, New Jersey, 
she returned to the old home, where she has remained, 
the only one of the family who lived with the parents 
during their later years. In 1885 she married Edwin 
Burr Place and still lives at the homestead. 

John (8), born May 2, 1840, was not robust natural- 
ly, and malarial fever further reduced his strength ; but 
he was exceedingly conscientious and felt it his duty 
to enlist in the army in 1861. The exposures of such a 
life were too great and he died on Dawfuskie Island, 
South Carolina, April 28, 1862. His grave and those 
of all of the family not living, except that of Zophar, 
are in the family cemetery on the farm. 

Zophar (8), the youngest of the family, was born 
Jan. 22, 1845. He came to the city when a young man 
and engaged in mercantile business. He married, 
June 27, 1866, Mary J., daughter of John and Jane 
(Powell) Jarvis, of Oyster Bay. He died in Brook- 
lyn, Dec. 2, 1898, and was buried at Bethpage, Long 
Island. 

George Washington (8), the ninth child of John 
R. (7) and Elizabeth Brush, was born at West Hills, 
Oct. 4, 1842. He attended the district school, and 
helped with the farm work until fourteen years old, 
when he went to the town academy. When nearly 
seventeen he went to Brooklyn and found employ- 
ment in a dry goods store, where he had plenty of hard 
work and $2.00 per week. Two years later, in the 
summer of 1861, he was the first to enlist from his 
native town in the 48th Regiment, New York Volun- 

26 



BRUSH— BOWERS 




teers, and with his brother, John (8), joined the Army 
of the Potomac and later went with Sherman's ex- 
pedition to Port Royal. With his regiment he par- 
ticipated in the engagements at Port Royal Ferry, 
Hilton Head Island, and Pocotaligo, in South Caro- 
lina, and the siege of Fort Pulaski, Ga. 

In June, 1863, he was commissioned as second lieu- 
tenant in the Second South Carolina Volunteers, after- 
ward known as 
the 34th United 
States Colored 
Troops. He took 
part in the bat- 
tles of James 
Island, Fort 
Wagner, G r a - 
hamsville, and 
the sieges of 
Fort Sumter 
and Charleston 
and man}' minor 
engagements 
in the Depart- 
ment of the 
South. 

"T he New 
York Tribune" 
of June 11, 
1864, con- 
tained an ac- 
count written bv Lieut. George W. Brush. 1864. 



27 



GENEALOGY 

the Rev. H. H. Moore, D. D., the chaplain of the 34th 
United States Colored Troops, of an incident which, 
after thirty years, led to the following correspondence : 

"Boston, Mass.. 
" April n, 1895. 
"Hon. Daniel S. Lamont, 
"Secretary of War. 
"Dear Sir : I have the honor to request that the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, conferred for volun- 
tary acts of conspicuous gallantry during the War 
of the Rebellion, he awarded to Second Lieutenant 
George W. Brush (afterward captain), 34th U. S. 
C. T., and of which I was at the time of the occurrence 
lieutenant-colonel. Captain Brush now resides at No. 
2 Spencer place, Brooklyn, New York. The service 
rendered by Lieutenant Brush is set forth in my af- 
fidavit, hereto annexed. 

"Very respectfully yours, 

"W. W. Marple, 

"Late Colonel 34th U. S. C. T. 

"Brevet Brig. General." 

(Affidavit.) 

"From statements which I received directly from 
Colonel James Montgomery, and from information 
obtained at the time from other sources, I know that 
on the 24th day of May, 1864, Lieutenant George W. 
Brush, of the 34th United States Colored Troops, res- 
cued and saved the lives of some four hundred of his 

28 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

comrades from the steamer 'Boston; aground in the 
Ashepoo River, South Carolina. 

This heroic act on the part of Lieutenant Brush 
and the four hrave soldiers from the Fourth Massa- 
chusetts Cavalry, who volunteered to accompany him 
in his perilous work, is the more deserving of praise 
for the reason that this officer was a long distance 
from the steamer ; he could not receive orders from 
his superior officers — procuring the only boat that was 
available, under a most destructive fire from a rebel 
battery on the river bank, made repeated trips to the 
wrecked steamer, until all on board were safely landed. 

"W. W. Marple. 

"Late Colonel 34th U. S. C. T. 

"Brevet Brig. General." 

"Duly sworn to April nth, 1895." 

"B. Subject: Medal of Honor, 464,275. 

"War Department, 

"Washington City, 

"January 21, 1897. 

"Dr. George W. Brush, 

Late Capt. 34th U. S. Colored Troops, 

No. 2 Spencer Place, 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

"Sir: I have the honor to inform you that, by direc- 
tion of the President, and in accordance with the act 
of Congress approved March 3, 1863, providing for 
the presentation of medals of honor to such officers, 

29 



GENEALOGY 

non-commissioned officers and privates as have most 
distinguished themselves in action, the Assistant Sec- 
retary of War has awarded you a medal of honor for 
conspicuous gallantry in action on the Ashepoo River, 
South Carolina, May 24, 1864. 

"In making the award the Assistant Secretary used 
the following language : 

" 'This officer voluntarily commanded a boat crew 
which went to the rescue of a large number of Union 
soldiers on board the stranded steamer 'Boston/ and 
with great gallantry succeeded in conveying them to 
shore, being exposed during the entire time to a heavy 
fire from a rebel battery.' 

"The medal has been forwarded to you to-day by 
registered mail. Upon the receipt of it please advise 
this office thereof. 

"Very respectfully, 

"F. C. Ainsworth, 

"Colonel U. S. Army, 
"Chief, Record and Pension Office." 

"Senate Chamber, 
"Albany, N. Y., 
"Jan. 26th, 1897. 
"Col. F. C. Ainsworth, U. S. Army, 

"War Department, Washington, D. C. 

"Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 

of your communication of Jan. 21st, 1897, stating 

that by the direction of the President, the Assistant 

Secretary of War had awarded me a medal of honor 

30 



Old Medal 
1862 



New Medal 
1904 





The Reverse Side of the Medal Bears the Following 

Inscription : 

The Congress 

to 

Captain George IV. Brash 

34th U. S. C. T. 

for GALLANTRY on 

the Aslicpoo River, S. C. 

May 24 

1864 



Si 



GENEALOGY 

for 'conspicuous gallantry in action on Ashepoo River, 
South Carolina, May 24th, 1864,' in accordance with 
the act of Congress approved March 3, 1863. I have 
also to acknowledge the receipt of the medal. I ac- 
cept this mark of distinction with profound gratitude. 
No greater reward can come to a soldier than such 
recognition by his government, and, while many have 
made greater sacrifices and are more worthy of this 
honor, their love for and pride in their country can- 
not, I am sure, surpass mine. 

"Permit me to say that it is most gratifying to me 
that on my recommendation, medals have also been 
awarded to the four enlisted men who so promptly 
responded to my call for volunteers in the perilous 
undertaking on that May morning so many years ago. 
Accept my thanks for your personal courtesy. 

"I am with grateful appreciation, 

"Very truly your obdt. servant, 

"George W. Brush, M. D." 

The medal of honor, as adopted by the War De- 
partment in 1862, was closely copied by the Grand 
Army of the Republic on its organization, causing 
some confusion and misunderstanding. Owing to this 
fact a new design was adopted by the government in 
1904 and a call was issued for a return of the old 
medals, new ones being substituted for them. 

Captain Brush served as recruiting officer of Flor- 
ida and as provost marshal, on the staff of Colonel 
Noble, commanding the brigade at Magnolia Springs. 

In March, 1865, he came north for the first time 

32 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

since enlisting and on the 30th was married to Alice 
Adeliza Bowers, of Brooklyn, to whom he had been 
attached for several years. At the expiration of his 
leave of absence he returned to Florida and in Oc- 
tober of the same year, his wife sailed on the steam- 
ship "D. H. Mount" for Jacksonville. A terrific 
storm occurred and the ship was wrecked, with all 
on board, off Cape Hatteras, on the 22nd, and was 
never seen or heard from after that date. 

In December, 1865, having resigned on account of 
impaired health, he returned to Brooklyn. 

The next year, with recovered health, he began the 
study of dentistry, preliminary to the study of medi- 
cine. He practiced dentistry for some years and in 
1876 graduated from the Long Island College Hospital 
and began the practice of medicine, later being ap- 
pointed surgeon and clinical teacher of medicine at 
the Long Island College Hospital, assistant surgeon 
of the 13th Regiment, N. Y. S. National Guard, con- 
sulting surgeon of the Bedford Dispensary and Hos- 
pital and consulting physician of the Bushwick Hos- 
pital. 

In 1868 he married Maria Annette Bowers (see 
Bowers family), a younger sister of his first wife, and 
in 1873 their only child, Herbert Bowers (9) Brush, 
was born. Before going to the war, George W. (8) 
had joined the Methodist church, but soon after his 
return he joined Plymouth (Henry Ward Beecher's) 
Church, and was for over twenty-five years an active 
member, having served as deacon, assistant superin- 
tendent and superintendent of the Sunday school. 

33 



GENEALOGY 

After removing to a distant part of the city, the 
family joined the Central Congregational Church, 
where he was also deacon and superintendent of the 
Bible School. 

In 1893 Dr. Brush took an active part in the po- 
litical campaign which resulted in the overthrow of a 
corrupt Democratic ''ring" and the election of a Re- 
publican mayor. The next year he received (unsolicit- 
ed) the Republican nomination to the State Assembly 
and was duly elected. The following year he was 
elected to the State Senate for a term of three years, 
serving as chairman of the Committee on Public Health 
and member of the "Cities" and "Military Affairs" 
committees. The four years of legislative work were 
strenuous ones. In the session of 1895 he introduced 
thirty-seven bills, twenty-two of which became laws. 
Conspicuous among these was one in the interests of 
morality and for the protection of womanhood, in- 
creasing the "age of consent" from sixteen to eighteen 
years. During the three years' service in the Senate 
he introduced one hundred and three bills, of which 
sixty-eight became laws. The most of these were 
charter amendments providing for improvements in 
the city. Among them was one for establishing the 
Brooklyn Disciplinary Training School for Boys, the 
object being to take incipient criminals under thirteen 
years of age and place them in an institution where 
they could be educated and given manual training 
under proper influences and finally placed in good 
homes. Senator Brush also introduced and pushed to 
final passage the bill which provided for the crossing 

34 




Senator George W. Brush, M. D. 1898. 



GENEALOGY 

of the Brooklyn Bridge by trolley cars, a measure of 
great value to Brooklyn. 

In 1898 a resolution was introduced which was re- 
ferred to the Committee on Public Health, calling for 
a committee of investigation into the causes and fatal 
spread of tuberculosis in the State. This having been 
passed by the Senate, Dr. Brush was made Chairman 
of the special committee, and gave much time to the 
study of the subject, visiting many sanitoria and also 
the Massachusetts State Hospital for the Treatment of 
Consumptives, then the only State hospital for such a 
purpose in the United States. He wrote the report 
of the committee, five hundred copies of which were 
printed in the form of a pamphlet, covering one hun- 
dred and twenty-five pages. 

It was accompanied by a bill providing for the es- 
tablishment of a State Hospital for the observation 
and treatment of those afflicted with this disease. The 
bill was enacted into a law and the hospital is an es- 
tablished fact. This report coming at a time when 
the subject of the treatment of this terrible scourge of 
the human race was being given wide attention, did 
much to influence public sentiment with reference to 
the proper methods to be taken for the protection of 
the healthy from infection by those having the disease. 
Dr. Brush has also served as commander of the Medal 
of Honor Legion of the United States, commander of 
U. S. Grant Post 327, Grand Army of the Republic ; 
president of the Congregational Club of Brooklyn, and 
president of the Manhattan-Brooklyn Conference of 
Congregational Churches. 

36 



O 

o 

o 

a> 

o 

'-I 

CfQ 

rs> 



"I 

O 

o 

n> 



> 
< 



m 



W 

o 
o 

7? 



2 

< 




GENEALOGY 

Herbert Bowers (9) Brush, son of George W. 
(8) and M. Annette Brush, was born in Brooklyn 
Feb. 12, 1873. He was educated at the Polytechnic 
Institute of the same city and at the New York Law 
School, receiving the degree of LL. B. in 1893. The 
following year, on his twenty-first birthday, he was 
admitted to the bar. May 3rd of the same year, 1894, 
he married Alice May Hays, daughter of Hiram W. 
and Alice (Butler) Hays, of Saratoga Springs, New 
York. He has served as Assistant Corporation Coun- 
sel of the City of Brooklyn and of Greater New York, 
also a term of four years as Assistant United States 
District Attorney of the Southern District of New 
York. His infant sons, George Hays (10), born Feb. 
24, 1897, and Herbert Woodford (10) , born Jan. 1, 
1899, died in November, 1899. 



Addenda. 

From a small pamphlet, entitled "The Brush Family 
in America," by Dr. George Rawson Brush, published 
at Sayville, Suffolk County, New York, in 1891, the 
following notes are taken of some branches of the 
family, aside from the one line previously pursued : 

'Thomas Brush, born about 1610, who died about 
1670, left four children, Thomas, John, Richard and 
Rebecca. Rebecca was married to Jeremiah Hobart, 
or Hubbard, Jan. 31, 1682. They had three sons and 
one daughter. Richard settled at West Neck, where 
his great-great-grandson, Thomas, now resides. Rich- 

38 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

ard conveyed his farm to his son, Thomas, in 1700. A 
great-great-grandson of Richard was Conklin Brush, 
one of the early mayors of Brooklyn." 

"A History of Greenwich, Fairfield County, Con- 
necticut," by Daniel Mead, says that two brothers 
of the name of Brush, came from Long Island to 
Greenwich soon after 1700. These were probably sons 
of Edward and Hester Brush, who lived at West Hills, 
Long Island. Hester was daughter of Richard and 
granddaughter of Thomas, the first settler. It is sup- 
posed that Edward was also a relative of Thomas. 
Their home at West Hills was nearly opposite to the 
house of John R. Brush. In 1904, is owned by one 
of their descendants, David P. Brush. 

In Philip H. Smith's "History of Dutchess County, 
New York," it is mentioned that Lemuel and William 
Brush, sons of Reuben Brush, of Long Island, lived 
in the west part of the town. Lemuel had five sons, 
Parlee, Jesse, Piatt, John and Henry. Jesse was an 
officer in the Revolution. John was the General John 
Brush who commanded the Dutchess County troops 
at Harlem Bridge in the War of 181 2, and was after- 
ward major general of militia. Colonel Henry Brush 
was captain of the Ohio Volunteers in the War of 181 2. 
"When informed of the surrender of his commander, 
General Hull, he refused to accept it as authoritative 
and escaped with his men and stores." 

Isaac Brush, seventh generation from Thomas (1), 
of Southold and Huntington, married a Phillips and 
bought a farm near Cleveland, Ohio. He was the 
father of Charles Francis Brush, electrician and in- 

39 



GENEALOGY 

ventor. He was born 1849 at Euclid, Ohio. His in- 
ventions have beeen numerous and valuable. 

Prof. George Jarvis Brush, born Dec. 15, 1831, at 
Brooklyn, New York, is a descendant of Thomas ( 1 ) , 
and traces his descent as follows : Thomas ( 1 ) , Rich- 
ard (2), Robert (3), Jonathan (4) married Elizabeth 
Smith, Joshua (5) married Margaret Ireland, of West 
Hills, Philip (6) married Ruth Brush, Jarvis (7) mar- 
ried Sarah Keeler, George Jarvis (8), mineralogist 
and author, has been identified with the Sheffield Sci- 
entific School at Yale University since 1855, and has 
written extensively on the subject of mineralogy. He 
married Harriet Silliman Trumbull. He says "the 
name Brusch was that of a rather noted writer of his 
time, Caspar Brusch, who lived in Bohemia in the first 
third of the sixteenth century, and was a member of 
a large family, some of whom may have been driven 
to Holland by religious persecution. 

"In England the name Brush is of rare occurrence, 
only a very few names being found in the directories 
of the large cities in Great Britain. While a student 
in London in 1855, I read one day in the Official Ga- 
zette, a notice of commendation of a Dr. John C. 
Brush, a surgeon in the British army before Sebasto- 
pol, for gallant and meritorious professional service 
on the battle field. Some thirty years later, by a 
curious coincidence, I found myself lodging in Hanover 
Square, London, in the same house with this Dr. Brush. 
Pie introduced himself to me in a very simple way, 
saying that the name Brush was so rare that he ven- 
tured to call on me to ascertain where I came from. 

40 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

In due time I asked him in regard to his family his- 
tory. He said his ancestor was a Dutch soldier who 
came over from Holland with William of Orange, and 
for his service at the battle of Boyne and at the siege 
of Londonderry was knighted and given a grant of 
land in the north of Ireland. Dr. Brush knew of no 
other persons of the name except those descended from 
this soldier and was much interested to find that per- 
sons of this name had emigrated to America many 
years before his ancestor came from Holland to Eng- 
land with William of Orange." 

Hon. Edward F. Brush, M. D., the present Mayor of 
Mount Vernon, N. Y., is descended from the Irish 
branch of the family, having been born in Dublin in 
1847. His father, Dr. Crane Brush, came to America 
about 1850. The son Edward enlisted in a Maine 
Regiment in 1864. Later he studied medicine, and has 
been Health Officer of Mount Vernon, President of 
the N. Y. Society of Medical Jurisprudence, etc. He 
is extensively engaged in the manufacture of kumiss. 
Dr. Brush is serving his second term as Mayor. 
He is a member of the Baptist Church. He mar- 
ried Miss Marion Beers, and thev have ten children. 




Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Rogers Family 



THOMAS ROGERS of the "Mayflower" and 
the eighteenth signer of the famous "Com- 
pact," brought his young son, Joseph, with 
him, but no list of his other children is obtainable. 
It is known that he had some who were already mar- 
ried, and that he died soon, within a year after the 
landing of the Pilgrims. The records show that a 
number of persons of the name of Rogers came over 
during the earliest years, between 1620 and 1635. which 
leads to great difficulty in tracing the descent and 
renders it impossible to obtain results as definite and 
clear as in other lines ; therefore, the records will be 
quoted as found and the descent counted only as far 
back as it is positively known, although the earlier rec- 
ords are probably substantially correct. A William 
Rogers was in Southampton, Long Island, in 1642- 
1645, when he disappeared from the town records. 

In 1647 William Rogers was in Hempstead, who 
was "son of Thomas of the Mayflower" (see "Ameri- 
can Ancestry"). 

In 1657 William Rogers was one of the grantees, 
with Thos. Wicks and Jonas Wood, in an Indian deed, 
which conveyed what was known as the "Eastern 
Purchase" in Huntington. 

In 1669 a widow, Ann Rogers, died in Huntington, 

42 



jggjjBSa ^g j gg^gS23S555 gmBg5gIgqCPiniISBg l 




leaving property to her children, the names of whom 
are the same as those of the children of William 
Rogers, viz : "Obadiah, John, Noah, Samuel, Mary 
and Hannah." 

"It is highly probable that Ann Rogers was the 
widow of William Rogers, one of the earliest settlers 
here and one of the grantees in the Indian deed in 
1656, and whose name disappears soon after." — (Hun- 
tington Town Records, Vol. 1, p. 141.) 

"It is probable that William gave to his son, Oba- 
diah, his homestead at Southampton (where Obadiah 
afterward lived ) and removed with his wife and young- 
er children to Huntington." — (Howell's History of 
Southampton.) 

From the fact that William Rogers was in Hemp- 
stead in 1647, soon after his name disappears from 
the records of Southampton, and did not appear at 
Huntington until 1656, it seems fair to infer that the 
William of Hempstead ("son of Thomas of the May- 
flower") was the same William who came to Hun- 
tington. 

Although the name of Jonathan does not appear in 
the list of the children of William or Ann Rogers, a 
deed bearing date of June 13, 1699, given by Noah 
to "my brother Jonathan Rogers," indicates that all 
were not included in the list or that John may also 
have been called Jonathan. A few days later Jona- 
than Rogers and his wife, Rebecca, gave deed to 
"John Roqers, son of ye above sd Jonathan Rogers." — 
(Hunt. Town Rec.) 




43 



GENEALOGY 

John (i), son of John, married, Nov. 30, 1735, 
Jemima Whitman. Their son, 

John (2), was born 1738, and married, Dec. 6, 
1 761, Ruth Wood, daughter of "Hunter" John Wood, 
Jr. She was sister of Elizabeth Wood, who married 
Jonathan Bloomfield. (See Wood and Bloomfield 
Families.) 

Elizabeth (3), daughter of John (2) and Ruth 
Rogers, was born in 1783, and married Jan. 25, 1800, 
Zebulon Brush. Their son, 

John Rogers (4) Brush, married Elizabeth Car- 
man. Their son, 

George W. (5) married Maria Annette Bowers. 
v Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is sixth in descent. 




The Whitman Family 



THE first of the line in this country were 
Zacharia (i) and Sarah Whitman, who 
came from London in the 'True Love," in 
September, 1635. He was forty and she twenty-five 
years old. They brought a little son, Zacharia, aged 
two and a half years. Their son, 

Joseph (2), was a freeman of the colony of New 
Haven in 1664. He was born in 1643 an d married 
Sarah "Cecum" (Ketcham) "against her mother's 
mind." (Huntington Town Records.) They w r ere in 
Huntington in 1661-86 and were the first of the name 
on Long Island. Their son, 

Zebulon (3), was born about 1678. He married 
Sybel Lewis, who was born in 1685. Her parents were 
Jonathan and Jemima (Whitehead) Lewis, of Oyster 
Bay. 

Zebulon (4), son of Zebulon (3) and Sybel Whit- 
man, married first "Margaret Van Wyck, of Oyster 
Bay, Jan. 13, 1747-8." (Presbyterian church records, 
Huntington, Long Island.) Their daughter, 

Margaret (5), was born 1749, and the mother dy- 
ing soon after, Zebulon (4) married second, Phebe 
Jarvis in 175 1 . In his will, dated 1757, he leaves his 
"house-goods, cow, horse, riding chair and one-third 
part of my real and personal estate not before dis- 

45 



\ 



GENEALOGY 

posed of, to my beloved wife Phebe, during her widow- 
hood, and no longer. To my daughter, Margaret, the 
sum of £75," etc. (See will in Surrogate's office, New 
York County.) Margaret (5) gave receipt for this 
money and at the same time acknowledged the receipt 
of a legacy from her grandfather Whitman, which 
paper is now in the possession of Miss Eliza Van 
Wyck, of Brooklyn. 

Margaret (5), daughter of Zebulon (4) and Mar- 
garet (Van Wyck) Whitman, married Zophar Brush 
in 1773. (See Brush Family.) Their son, 

Zebulon (6) Brush, married Elizabeth Rogers. 
(See Rogers Family.) Their son, 

John Rogers (7) Brush, married Elizabeth Car- 
man. Their son, 

George W. (8) Brush, married M. Annette Bowers. 
Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is ninth in descent. 




The Wood Family 



IN the earliest records of Long Island are found 
two men by the name of Jonas Wood, one of 
whom is sometimes designated as 

"Jonas (i) Wood of Halifax" or "Jonas Wood 
(H.)." The other is frequently distinguished by the 
word "Oram" or the letter "O" after his name. Evi- 
dently the two were frequently confounded and the 
names appended were supposed to be those of the 
towns from which they came before settling on the 
island. If confusing then, when both were living, how 
much more so two hundred years later ! 

Both were men of prominence in the management of 
affairs and granting of lands. Both were apparently 
justices or magistrates. 'Jonas Wood, Jr.," was son 
of one of them and owner of one of the "ten farms." 
According to an old English custom, disputed land 
was allotted to individuals by first dividing the inhabi- 
tants into ten parts. Those composing each part, se- 
lected certain ones to go and possess the land on con- 
dition of building and improving within a stipulated 
time. The "ten farms" here referred to were between 
Northport and Smithtown River. He also owned land 
on the "East Neck South." He died in 1712. A family 
record of 

Jonas (2) Wood, Jr., gives the date of the birth 
of his son, 

47 



GENEALOGY 

John (3), as April 15, 1677. He was called "Hunter 
John Wood," presumably because of his prowess as 
a hunter. He was twice married, the second time 
in 1747, to the widow of Jeremiah Wood, who was 
a "Widow Whitman." He died in 1751. His son, 

John (4) Wood, was called "Hunter John Wood, 
Jr." He was born in 171 1 and in 1736 married Phebe 
Jarvis, or Jervis (the name was originally Gervaise), 
who died in 1773. He afterward married Martha 
Hugins, who was the widow of John Titus and also 
of Samuel Brush. She died in 1798. To distinguish 
him from another John Wood, he was spoken of as 
"of Frogponds" — the other one being "of Flagponds." 
Frogponds was about half way between West Hills 
and Huntington. He and his wife, Phebe, had four 
daughters, one of whom, Ruth (5), married John 
Rogers and became the mother of Elizabeth (6) 
(Rogers) Brush. (Another daughter, Elizabeth (5), 
married Jonathan Bloomfield and was the mother of 
Mary (6) (Bloomfield) Carman. John (4) Wood, Jr., 
was thus the great-grandfather of both Elizabeth (7) 
Carman and of her husband, John Rogers (7) Brush. 
John (4) Wood died in 1801. From his will and 
schedules of personal property, found among the pa- 
pers of John R. Brush, it appears that he had what 
was then a considerable estate, amounting to about 
$10,000. He had a store and held the notes of a large 
number of his relatives and neighbors for sums ranging 
from £5 to £400. This estate was bequeathed to his 
four daughters and their heirs. He appointed as ex- 
ecutors, his son-in-law, Jonathan Bloomfield, and his 

48 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

two friends, Obadiah Piatt and Zophar Brush. His 
grave is within the ridges which mark the line of the 
old fort on the "old Burying Hill," in Huntington. So 
said Jarvis Rolph in the "Long Islander" in 1885. 

Ruth (5) Wood married John Rogers in 1761. (See 
Rogers Family.) Their daughter, 

Elizabeth (6), married Zebulon Brush in 1800. 
(See Brush Family.) Their son, 

John Rogers (7) Brush, married Elizabeth Car- 
man in 1823. (See Carman Family.) Their son, 
George W. (8), married Maria Annette Bowers in 
1868. (See Bowers Family.) Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is ninth in descent. 





mm. 



!23oW£>?0 



Van Wyck Arms. 



The Van Wyck Family 



THE founder of the family in America was 
Cornelius Barentse (i) Van Wyck, who 

emigrated to this country in 1660 from Hol- 
land, and settled in Midwout, now Flatbush. The 
family originated in the town of Wyck bei Diersteade, 
North Brabant, situated on the Teck, a branch of the 
Rhine, about seventeen miles below Arnheim. 

It is a picturesque old town with massive walls. 
"The family descended from Chevalier Hendrick Van 
Wyck, who lived about 1400. They were Roman 
Catholics until Jan Van Wyck, a member of the Council 

50 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

of Utrecht, married Wyancler Van Asch, a Protes- 
tant, in 1575. She was the last of her family and 
received her brother's property, provided her descend- 
ants would join the family arms and carry the name 
Van Asch- Van Wyck." (American Ancestry.) 

Their son, Jacob Van Asch- Van Wyck (born 1584, 
died 1635), married Anna Van Rynvelt and was 
councillor and receiver-general. From them the whole 
Protestant branch descends. The arms are a cross of 
gold on a field of black with two silver thistles in each 
quarter. Tradition says that one ancestor was a Cru- 
sader, and the flowers represent some that grew in 
Palestine. The whole is surmounted by a crown up- 
lifted by two griffins, as shown in the cut at the head 
of this article. 

Cornelius (1) Barentse Van Wyck, who came to 
America, became one of the patentees of Flatbush and 
a member of the Dutch Reformed Church there in 
1677. Old records show that he took the oath of 
allegiance to ''William, Prince of Orange, Sept. 26, 
1687, in the thirde year of his majesties raigne." "Thus 
we have an introduction to the first representative from 
an old and respected noble family in the Low Coun- 
try." 

He owned land in Flatbush on the north side of the 
main road leading from New Utrecht to Flatbush and 
east of the Flatbush church lands. (Bergen's Early 
Settlers of Kings County, New York.) 

Dominie Theodorus Johannes Polhemus came from 
Itamarca, Brazil, where he had been a missionary, with 
Catharine (Werven), his wife, and they were in Flat- 

51 



GENEALOGY 



bush in 1654. He was the first Dutch Reformed min- 
ister to settle on Long Island, and until about 1660 he 
was in charge of three churches, Breukelen, Midwout 
(Flatbush) and Amersfoort (Flatlands). He was 
born in Holland 1598, died 1676. His daughter, 
Anna, married Cornelius Barentse (1) Van Wyck. 

Theodorus (2), their son, was born 1668. April 
29, 1693, he married Margretia (1675-1741), daughter 
of Abraham (Joris) and Aeltie (Stryker) Brinckerhoff 
and granddaughter of Joris (Dirck) and Susanna 
(Dubbles) BrinckerhofI and of Jan and Lambert je 
(Seabering) Stryker. (American Ancestry.) 

Theodorus (2) was 
justice of the peace 
in Queens County 
from 1 7 18 to the year 
of his death, 1753. 
He and his brother, 
Johannes (2), who 
settled at Flushing, 
were "Kirkmasters" 
in the Jamaica Dutch 
Reformed Church. 
In 1 70 1 he went to 
Great Neck and built 
the house now owned 
by the Hicks family. 
He owned large 
tracts of land and the 
place is still a farm of 
nearly one hundred 

52 




Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. 



X 
o 



en 



P 



o 
c 



< 

P 



o 



O 

CD 
P 

a> 
o 

r 



p 

CO 



p 

n> 

p 



o 



td 



O 




V 



GENEALOGY 

acres. It lies in a long section running from the 
village to the water's edge, "Hicks' Lane" running 
through much of it, to the old house, which stands 
on a pleasant slope close to the water, having a fine 
view over the arm of Manhasset Bay to the shores on 
the other side. The house is surrounded by fine old 
trees and is in excellent condition, having been im- 
proved in various ways, but not materially altered. 

A broad veranda extends along the whole front of 
the house and the general effect is homelike and at- 
tractive, as may be seen in the cut accompanying this 
description. The Hicks brothers took their grand- 
father's name, who probably had the place from 
his father-in-law, whose name was Morrell, and 
who is said to have bought the property from the 
Van Wyck family ; thus the changes in ownership 
seem to have been few in the two centuries which 
have passed. 

The family Bible of Theodorus Van Wyck is said 
to be in the possession of Theo. Van Wyck Brincker- 
hoff, of Fishkill, N. Y. Cornelius (3) and Theodorus 
(3), sons of Theodorus (2) and Margretia, went to 
Fishkill in 1736 and were the progenitors of the Van 
Wycks of that town. In a cemetery there we find on 
a gravestone this inscription : "Here lyes buryed The 
Bodye of Theodorus Van Wyck, Esqr., who was born 
on Long Island Oct. ye 15, 1697. Removed to Fish- 
kill 1736. Departed this life 1776 and in the year of 
the Independence of America" and also "Mrs. Elizabeth 
Van Wyck, wife to Theodorus Van Wyck, Born 1698, 
Dyed 1764 in ye 66 year." Mary (4), a daughter of 

54 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Theo. (3), of Fishkill, married Zephaniah Piatt, of 
Poughkeepsie, who was the original proprietor of 
Plattsburg and a descendant of Epenetus Piatt, of 
Huntington, L. I. (Epenetus was brother of Isaac 
Piatt, whose daughter, Elizabeth, married John (2) 
Brush about 1685.) Hon. James P., son of Zephaniah 
Piatt, married Sarah Breeze, sister of Rear Admiral 
Samuel Livingston Breeze, U. S. N. 

Gen. Charles H. Van Wyck, a descendant of Cor- 
nelius (3), was Governor and United States Senator 
from Nebraska. 

Abraham (3), the third son, settled in New York 
City and married Catharina Prevoost in 1717, (Rec- 
ords Dutch Reformed Church, New York City.) 

Theodorus (2) died in 1753 and his grave is in the 
Thorne ground at Great Neck, where his father, Cor- 
nelius Barentse (1) Van Wyck was probably buried 
also, as Miss Anne Van Wyck, of Brooklyn, found 
a field stone there marked "Cors. Wyck," which has 
since become illegible. She has recently erected a 
granite monument to the memory of Theodorus and 
Margretia Van Wyck, and other ancestors, in Christ 
churchyard at Manhasset. L. I. 

Barent (3), the fourth son of Theodorus and Mar- 
gretia, was born March 30, 1703, at Great Neck, and 
baptized at the Reformed Dutch Church of Jamaica. 
In 1724 he went to East Woods, now Woodbury, town 
of Oyster Bay, and in 1727 married Hannah, born 
1704, daughter of Thomas Carman, of Merrick. (See 
Registry of St. George's Church, Hempstead.) 
Thomas was brother of John Carman, who married 

55 



GENEALOGY 

Elizabeth Wood. (See Carman Family.) Barent (3) 
was a supporter of the Dutch Church and was one 
of the building committee when the church of that 
denomination was organized in 1732 at Wolver Hol- 
low, now Oyster Bay. The record of baptisms does 
not begin until Oct. 24, 1741. (Hist. Dutch Reformed 
Church of Jamaica, by Onderdonk.) He made his 
will the 4th of January, i/49-'50, and died soon after, 
his eldest son, Thomas (4), being an executor. He 
left certain real estate to be sold for the benefit of 
his wife and three daughters, and his 800 acres of land 
at Woodbury to his four sons. Theodorus (4) sold his 
quarter to Thomas (4) about 1737. Capt. Abraham 
(4) sold his quarter to Samuel (4), left Queens County 
and bought 200 acres at W T est Neck, Huntington Har- 
bor, L. I. This property he sold to Abraham (5) Van 
Wyck, Jr., his nephew and son-in-law, in 1793, who 
was father of Joshua (6), whose daughter, Miss Anne 
Van Wyck, of Brooklyn, has been referred to. 

In 1795 Thomas (4) offered his half for sale, and 
about the same time Samuel (4) sold his property and 
removed to Classen's Point, Westchester, N. Y. 

Under date of Jan. 31, i749-'50 the Register of 
St. George's Church at Hempstead bears the following 
record : "Baptized, Hannah Vanwick, widow, Thomas, 
Theodorus, Samuel (adults), Abraham, Mary, Sarah, 
Abigail (children)," showing that the family of seven 
children (instead of six, as stated in several genealo- 
gies) w r ere received into the Episcopal Church very 
soon after the death of Barent (3) Van Wyck. 

St. George's Church had held services some years 

56 




St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I. Rebuilt 1822. 



GENEALOGY 

before its organization in 1704, and was one of the 
first of the denomination on Long Island. Queen Anne 
gave to it a Bible, prayer-book and communion service. 
The Registry book, in which the first records were 
made, in 1725, was given by Theodorus (2) Van 
Wyck, of Great Neck. Abraham (4), son of Barent 
(3), was a captain in the Provincial Militia, while his 
brother, Thomas (4), was a captain in the loyal (or 
Tory) militia. 

Hannah, widow of Barent (3), died in 1790. Al- 
though the names of only three daughters appear on 
the register of baptisms at St. George's Church in 
1749, and also in the will of Barent (3), there is con- 
vincing evidence that there had been another daughter 
who had died before her father. She was probably 
born in 1731 or 1732 and was named, 

Margaret (4), no doubt after Margretia Brinck- 
erhoff, the mother of Barent (3). According to rec- 
ords this was a favorite name in the family at that 
time. 

A personal search of the registry of marriages of 
the First Presbyterian Church of Huntington, L. I. 
(which has never been published) revealed the record 
of the marriage of "Zebulon Whitman, of Huntington, 
to Margaret Van Wyck, of Oyster Bay, on Jan. 13, 
1747-8." Barent 's (3) family was the only one of 
the name living as far east as Oyster Bay. A careful 
study of the family history shows no other Van Wycks 
except those descended from Cornelius Barentse(i),of 
Flatbush, living on Long Island at that time ; therefore 
"Margaret (4) Van Wyck of Oyster Bay" must have 

58 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

been the daughter of Barent (3), of Oyster Bay. She 
died before the death of her father, which accounts for 
the absence of her name from his will. The record of 
the family of Barent (3) and Hannah (Carman) Van 
Wyck, as far as can be learned from various sources, 
is as follows : 

Thomas (4), born Aug. 6, 1728, married Rachel 
Eldert 17,43; died, 1815. 

Theodorus (4), born May, 1730, married Martha 
Robbins 1760; died, 1819. 

Margaret (4), born probably in 1732, married Zeb- 
ulon Whitman 1747-8; died, 1748-9. 

Samuel (4), born Aug. 4, 1735; married Hannah 
Hewlett 1766; died, 1810. 

Abraham (4), born March 22, 1738; married Eliza- 
beth Wright 1761 ; died, 1809. 

Mary (4), married John Polhemus 1762. 

Sarah (4), married Simon Cortelyou 1763; died, 
1816. 

Abigail (4), born Sept., 1748; married Thomas 
Wicks 1767; died, 1816. 

Margaret (4) (Van Wyck) Whitman, left one 
child. 

Margaret (5) Whitman, born Jan. 12, 1748-9, 
who married Zophar Brush. (See Whitman and Brush 
Families.) Although not mentioned in her grand- 
father's will she received some of the family silver, 
tablespoons and teaspoons, which came into the pos- 
session of two of her granddaughters, Amelia and 
Mary Brush (see will of Zophar Brush, page 19), who 
had them melted and made into a more modern 

59 



GENEALOGY 

pattern. One was lost and thus preserved from this 
transformation, and about i860, in digging a drain 
near the Brush Homestead, at West Hills, the 
small silver teaspoon was found, marked "B. 
V. W." which John R. (7) Brush said had belonged 
to his great-great-grandfather "Bont" (Barent) (3) 
Van Wyck, and had been in the possession 
of his grandmother, Margaret (5) (Whitman) Brush, 
granddaughter of Barent (3) Van Wyck. He remem- 
bered having heard many years before that one of the 
set had been lost. This spoon is still in the family. 
The farm of Barent (3) Van Wyck at Woodbury, L. 
B^VW I., is now usually known as the Hewlett place. The 

graves of Barent (3) and Hannah are said to be in 
the corner of the woods in sight of the house, a spot 
selected by himself. 

(Elizabeth (7) Brush, sister of John Rogers (7) 
Brush, and great-granddaughter of Margaret (4) (Van 
Wyck) Whitman, married John (6) Van Wyck, of 
Woodbury, whose father was Richard (5), son of 
Theodorus (4), who was son of Barent (3). Many of 
their descendants are now living in Brooklyn and 
vicinity, among them being Samuel (7) Van Wyck, a 
former Supervisor of Kings County, and his son, Al- 
bert (8), and daughter, Eliza (8). Former Mayor Rob- 
ert A. (7) and Ex- Judge Augustus (7) are also de- 
scendants of Barent (3) Van Wyck.) 

Zebulon (6), son of Zophar and Margaret (5) 
(Whitman) Brush, married Elizabeth Rogers. (See 
Rogers Family.) Their son, 



60 





BRUSH— BOWERS 

John Rogers (7) Brush, married Elizabeth Car- 
man. (See Carman Family.) Their son, 

George W. (8), married Maria Annette Bowers. 
(See Bowers Family.) Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is ninth in descent. 





The Carman Family 



THIS coat of arms has been used by several 
branches of the family for many years, among 
them that of Mr. Nelson G. Carman, of 
Brooklyn, New York City; Mr. E. S. Car- 
man, of Manhattan, New York City, and Mr. 
Bliss Carman, the distinguished Canadian poet and 
literateur, whose father also used it. The earliest trace 
of the name obtainable is of a Carman in the Norman- 
French forces that came into England with William 
the Conqueror. The next mention is of a Thomas Car- 
man, who was among the last of the martyrs burned 
at the stake, about 1558, in the persecution under 
"Bloody Mary." In records of Woburn, Suffolk 
County, England, reference is made to "Margaret ux 
John Carmyn" (Harleian Soc. 32). 

In an old record of Capt. John Smith's troops in 

62 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Virginia occurs the name of Henry Carman. There 
were families of the name at Cape May, N. J., and 
also in Cecil County, Maryland, as early as 1690, the 
Christian names of whom, Caleb, Joshua and John, 
seem to show a common ancestry with the family of 

John ( 1 ) Carman and his wife, Florence (Ford- 
ham ) , to whom he was married in England, in 1631, 
and who came from England in the "Lion" with Elliott, 
the Indian apostle, arriving on Xov. 3 of the same 
year. Some say that they came from Halifax, Eng., 
others that their old home was in Hemel Hempstead, 
fifteen miles out from London, now a part of Greater 
London. This seems the more probable from the name 
given to their home in the New World. They stopped 
for a short time in Roxbury, and also in Lynn, Mass.. 
before coming to L0112: Island. 

Nov. 3, 1881, the 250th anniversary of their arrival, 
was celebrated at Hempstead by the "Association of 
the Descendants of John and Florence Carman." A 
full account of the occasion was published in the local 
papers. The Rev. I. N. Carman, of St. Paris, Ohio, 
who was present, preserved a copy, which was later 
given to Mr. E. S. Carman, of the "Rural New 
Yorker." Gen. E. A. Carman, of New Jersey, was the 
historian of the association, and at that time Chief 
Clerk of the Department of Agriculture at Washing- 
ton, D.C. Theodore F. Randolph, ex-Governor of New 
Jersey, was a descendant from John and Florence Car- 
man also. Another one was Stephen Carman, of 
Hempstead, L. I., who was a member of the conven- 
tion that met in Poughkeepsie in 1788 to ratify the 

6* 



GENEALOGY 

proposed Constitution of the United States, and voted 
to ratify. Among his associates at that time were 
Alexander Hamilton, Livingston, Melancthon Smith, 
Clinton and other distinguished statesmen. 

From Mr. William S. Carman, at one time Presi- 
dent of the Association, much of the information con- 
tained in this account was obtained. 

The records show that "in 1643 tne village of 
Hempstead, L. I., was settled by a colony from New 
England, the land, (about 120,000 acres) being pur- 
chased from the Marsapeague and other Indian tribes 
by the Rev. Robert Fordham and John Carman ;" the 
original deed being still in the possession of some of the 
family. The tract extended from the East River to 
what is now Garden City, and embraced a large part 
of Brooklyn. Weathersfield, Conn. ; St. John, N. B. ; 
Fordham, N. Y., and Denton, Md., were also founded 
by the Carman family. 

The Rev. Robert Fordham was father of Florence, 
the wife of John (1) Carman. He was the leader of 
the colony which came from Stamford, Conn., and was 
the first minister of the Hempstead church, which was 
built in 1648. This was Congregational or Presby- 
terian. Mr. Fordham was succeeded by John Moore, 
and the third pastor was Richard Denton, according 
to the researches of Dr. W. W. Tooker, of Sag Har- 
bor. 

Robert Fordham was son of Philip Fordham, of 
Sacombe, Hertfordshire, England. He came to 
America with his wife, Elizabeth, and family, in 1640, 
and was in Cambridge and Sudbury, Mass., before or- 

64 



y BRUSH— BOWERS 

ganizing the migration from Stamford to Hempstead. 

> In 1644 patents for the land on Long Island which had 
been bought from the Indians were obtained from Gov. 
Peter Stuyvesant. John (1) Carman died in 165 1. 

y John (2), son of John (1) and Florence, was born 

in 1633. Another son, Caleb, born in 1645, was the 
first white child born in Hempstead. John (2) mar- 

> ried Hannah, daughter of Capt. John Seaman, who 
"came from Essex, Norfolk Co. Eng. young and un- 
married." He married first, Hannah Strickland, and 

v second, Maria Moore, of Newtown, L. I., who was the 

mother of Hannah Seaman. Capt. Seaman was a 
Quaker and descended from an ancestor who was 
v burned at the stake in England during the persecu- 

tion of the Puritans. He was one of the first settlers 
in Hempstead, a large land owner, and a magistrate 
v in 1656. He died in 1695. 

John (2) Carman died in 1684. 
John (3) went to Huntington in 17 18, and died 
v in 1759. His will mentions his "son John" as his "heir- 
son." 

John (4) married Elizabeth Wood, Dec. 29, 1732, 
and died in 1788, according to records of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Huntington. (See — Wood 
F&m44yi.) 
y John (5) was born Jan. 10, 1741, and married 

Jane Valentine, (who was born 1751 ) in 1772 

The Long Island Valentines are descended from 

y Richard Valentine, who was in Hempstead in 1644. and 

was one of the sixty-six proprietors in 1667. He was 

then 3 young man, probably a lineal descendant of 

6a 



GENEALOGY 

Richard Valentine, of Eccles, Lancashire, England. 
The earliest record of this family (of Eccles) is the 
will of Richard Valentine in 1520. He married Anne 
Hapwood and left his estate to his son, Thomas, who 
left his, in turn, to his son, Richard. He is called 
"Thomas Volantyne of Beaucliffe, County Lancaster, 
Gent." 

John (5) and Jane Carman had four children, John 
(6), Mary (6), who married a Smith; Elizabeth (6), 
and Phebe (6). The two latter never married. Phebe 
(6) outlived all the others, and had a large collection 
of family relics in "her part" of the old homstead, in- 
cluding quaint old dresses and bonnets, home spun 
linen and even the flax in hanks which she and her 
mother and sisters had prepared for weaving many 
years before, some of which are in the possession of 
the family of the writer. John ( 5 ) Carman died in 
April, 1825, and his widow, Jane, July 30, 1834. They 
were buried in the family ground near the homestead 
at Half Hollow Hills, which was occupied by their 
great-grandson, Clarence Carman, until 1902. 

John (6) was born in 1773, and in 1796 married 
Mary Bloomfield. (See Bloomfield Family.) They 
had seven children and spent their lives on the farm 
just referred to. John (6) and all his ancestors, as 
far as known, were Presbyterians. He died in 1857. 
Mary ( Bloomfield ) Carman is remembered by her 
grandchildren as a very genial, energetic woman. She 
died in 1852 at the age of seventy-seven. The children 
were John Bloomfield (7), Abigail (7), Elizabeth (7), 
Jane (7), Mary Ann (7), Jarvis (7), and Timothy (7). 

66 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Elizabeth (7), born Sept. 8, 1802, married John 
Rogers Brush (see Brush Family). She resembled her 
mother in features, having brown eyes and hair, and 
her father in height and form, being rather short. She 
was very domestic, quiet and industrious in her habits. 
A devoted Christian from childhood, she spent much 
time in later years in reading religious books and 
hymns. Her son, 

George W. (8) Brush, married Maria Annette 
Bowers. Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is ninth in descent. 





Efimmj&flu 



The Bloomfield Family 



THE family of Blofield was settled in Norfolk, 
Eng., at a very early period. Thomas Blo- 
field possessed lands in North Repps in that 
Co. which he sold before 1466." 

A "Robert Blofield was living at Hickling in 1479. 
Thomas B. of Suestead Hall of Beeston Priory, Nor- 
folk, was son of Thomas of South Repps." (Burke's 
Landed Gentry, Vol. I.) 

68 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

In an account of the Singleton family of Mendle- 
sham, Suffolk County, reference is made to "Joane ux 
Thomas Bloomfield of Mendlesham." (Harleian Soc, 

32.) 

Rev. Francis Blomefield, rector of Fersfield, in 
Norfolk, was the author of "An Essay towards a Topo- 
graphical History of Norfolk, containing a description 
of Towns, villages and hamlets, foundations of monas- 
teries and churches, also an account of villages and 
likewise, an historical account of castles, seats and 
manors, their present and ancient owners." This was 
in eleven volumes, published at Fersneld in 173 1-1775, 
and re-published in London in 1805. Among the sub- 
scribers to this work was one Thomas Blofield, of 
Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk. 

In the first volume the author gives many details 
concerning his own family, and traces his own descent 
back six generations from Henry ( 1 ) Blomefield, 
Gent., of Fersfield. He also refers to an early mem- 
ber of the family, "Sir Henry Broumflete alias Brome- 
feldt who lived in the time of King Henry VI and was 
one of those sent by him in 1433 to the Council of 
Basle, at which time he bore the same coat of arms 
as was used in 1603. He died without issue." 

Many of the family died at Fersfield and their 
tombs are in the parish church there. The epitaph of 
John Blomefield, fourth generation from Henry (1), 
says he was "sometime of Corpus Christi Coll. in 
Cambridge and afterward an inhabitant of this place 
where he lived a very charitable, humble, peaceful, de- 
vout, good son of the church and died Dec. 22, 1700." 

69 



GENEALOGY 

His son, Henry, was father of Francis (the author), 
who "was instituted (rector) at the presentation of 
Henry Blomefield, gent, (his father) patron of this 
turn." 

A picture and description of the coat of arms borne 
by this gentleman shows it to be substantially the same 
as that which has come down to us as a bookplate 
through the ancestors who settled at Woodbridge, New 
Jersey, excepting such changes and additions as had 
been caused by intermarriages with other families bear- 
ing arms. ( See cut at head of this article. ) The crest 
is nearly identical, while the motto, "Pro aris et focis" 
("For our altars and our firesides") is the same. 

The heraldic blazoning of the Blomefield of Fers- 
field coat of arms, is as follows : "Sa on a chevron or, 
three broom br. vert budded gal : on a canton of the 
second a spear sab. embriled broken in the truncheon." 
Then follow the quarterings added from intermarriages 
with four different families. The crest is "a demi tiger 
az. mane and tail arg. holding in paws a sword broken 
in blade." 

Many changes in the spelling of the name are 
noticeable, Bromfield, or Broomfield, being apparently 
the most ancient. A book called "Kings Chapel Burial 
Ground, Boston, Mass.," by Bridgman, gives an obitu- 
ary notice from which the following extracts are taken, 
because the early family history of the subject is linked 
with that of the Norfolk Blomfields : "The Brom- 
fields were first heard of in Wales in the time of Fd- 
ward II. (i 307- 1 327), where they had extensive pos- 
sessions. Next in Derbyshire whence a younger son, 

70 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

William, removed to London and became Lieut, of 
Ordnance in the Tower under Queen Elizabeth ( 1558- 
1603). He acquired by marriage, large estates in Nor- 
folk where, before this time, a branch of the family had 
been settled to whom Edward VI. in 1553 granted an 
augmentation of their coat armor. Sir Edward Brom- 
field was Mayor of London in 1635, some of whose 
descendants came to America. The family seat was 
Haywood House, near New Forest." 

The "augmentation of the coat armor" to William 
Bromefeyld was granted by the following document : 
"To all nobles and jentles — Thos. Hawley Claren- 
cieulx, Principall herauld and Kyng of arms of the 
South Easte and Weste partes of this Realme of Eng- 
lande sendeth dew and humble commendacion and 
gretyng. Equyty willeth and reason ordenith that men 
virtuous and of noble courage be for their merytes and 
good renown rewarded, not alone by their persons in 
this Mortall lyfe, so brief and transitory, but also after 
them those that shall be of their bodyes descended, to 
be in all places of honor with other renowned, accepted 
and taken by certvne enseigmes and demonstrancvs of 
honor and noblesse. And forasmuch as William Brome- 
feyld of South Rayngham in the Co. of Norfolk, gen- 
tillman, is descended of an anntyent house berying 
arms and hath in the Kyngs Majestys warres, both in 
Fraunce and Scotland, bled himself so valauntly and 
manfully that he is well worthy to have an augmenta- 
tion to his said amies ; yet nevertheless he, uncertyne 
under what sorte and maner his predecessors have their 
Creste and tynture, not willing to do any thing that 

7i 



GENEALOGY 

should be precudiciall to any gentillman of name and 
amies, hath desyred me the said Clarencieulx. Kyng 
of armes to ordeyne, assigne and set forth to his saide 
amies a creste dew and lefull to be borne. And there- 
fore, the said Clarencieulx sying his request so juste, 
and reasonable, by the authorite and power annexed 
attributed, given and granted by the Kyng, our Sover- 
ayne Lord Highnes, to me and to my office of Claren- 
cieulx, Kyng of armes, by expresse wordes under his 
Majestys most noble greate seal, have ordered, assigned 
and set forth to his saide amies an augmentacion with 
a Creste dew and lawfull, to be borne, in maner here- 
after foloweth (that is to say:) Sable on a Chevron 
Silver, three braunches of brome vert budded golde, on 
a canton of the same a spere head asur. the poynte 
bluddy, in the socket a truncheon of the spere broken, 
on his healme, on a wreth silver and geules, a demy 
Tygre asur. the mayne and the Tayle flaxed silver, 
langued geules, tusked gold, holding in his pawes a 
sworde hilted and pomeled silver, porfled gold, the 
blade broken, mantled geules, dobled silver as more 
plainly apereth depicted in this margent. To have and 
to hold to him and his posteritie forevermore. Geven 
and granted at London the Xth of Januarye in the 7th 
yere of the reigne of our Souveraigne Lorde Edward 
the Syxth, by the grace of God Kyng of England, 
Fraunce and Ireland, defender of the faithe and of the 
Churche of England and Ireland, under Christ the 
supreme head." Again comparing this blazoning (or 
description) with the cut at the head of this article, 
the common origin is evident ; the slight changes being 



i 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

such as might be expected from the lapse of time and 
the descent from one generation to another. An old 
print of the bookplate, from which the coat of arms 
is here reproduced, is in the possession of Mr. and 
Mrs. B. F. Jervis, of Ithaca, N. Y., both of whom are 
descendants from Jonathan Bloomfield, of Wood- 
bridge, N. J. 

The Heraldic Journal and Burke's Armoury give 
descriptions of other "arms" of other branches of the 
family, several of which are similar to those already 
described. 

The records show that there were some of the name 
both in Norfolk and Suffolk, adjoining counties in the 
eastern part of England, from which many Puritans 
came to America, among them, 

Thomas (i) Bloomfield, with his four sons, 
Thomas (2), John (2), Benjamin (2), and Ezekiel 
(2), and his daughter, Mary (2). They came from 
Woodbridge, Suffolk County, England. 

Thomas (1) had been a Major in the Army of 
Oliver Cromwell. He was probably in Newbury, 
Mass., before going to New Jersey. 

About 1 660- 1 665, in company with several asso- 
ciates, he took a lease of the then proprietors of New 
Jersey, the Duke of York and Lord Carteret, of a 
tract of land, comprising sixty-four square miles, lying 
in a compact form and including the present towns of 
Amboy and Woodbridge. This lease really was a 
transfer of the fee simple, a certain rent being re- 
served for the original proprietors, who, however, 
judging from the nature of the country and the con- 

73 



GENEALOGY 

venient harbor upon which the City of Amboy is now 
situated, and believing that it would become a seat of 
business and commerce, afterward, in consideration of 
a reconveyance of three square miles at this point, ex- 
ecuted a release of the rent, as to the remainder. By 
this means the company became possessed of sixty-one 
square miles, free from incumbrance and without the 
expenditure of any valuable consideration. 

The lands were divided among the associates, and 
they called the place of their settlement Woodbridge, 
after the town in England, from which several, or most 
of them came. 

Of the children of Thomas ( i ) Bloomfield, Ben- 
jamin (2) left no issue. Mary (2) was married to 
Jonathan Dunham. She was afterward shot by a slave, 
who was burned to death for the crime. She left two 
children, Thomas (3) and John (3). 

Ezekiel (2), born 1653, married Hope Randolph 
about 1680, and they had six children, Mary (3), Tim- 
othy (3), Jeremiah (3), Benjamin (3), Ezekiel (3), 
and Joseph (3), born 1695. Ezekiel (2) was a repre- 
sentative to the General Assembly in 1687 and died in 
1702. 

Joseph (3) married "Unis Dunham 1721. She was 
a daughter of Jonathan and Easter (Rolph) Dunham 
and was born 1702. She is called a cousin in some 
records because she was daughter of the Jonathan 
Dunham whose first wife was Mary Bloomneld, who 
was shot by a slave." Joseph (3), and Eunice had three 
children, who grew to maturity. Moses (4), born 
1729, Hannah (4), born 1724, and Jonathan (4), born 

74 




Governor Joseph Bloomfield, of New Jersey. 



GENEALOGY 

1735. Joseph (3) died in 1782 and, according to the 
custom of those days, left the greater part of his estate 
to his eldest son, Moses (4), who had been "educated 
a physician and surgeon in the best manner, having 
finished his education in Edinboro." 

After his return he married Sarah Ogden, a daugh- 
ter of Moses Ogden, of Elizabethtown, N. J. They 
had six children. Dr. Moses (4) Bloomfield was, dur- 
ing the Revolutionary War, senior physician in a 
United States hospital ; a representative to the Provin- 
cial Congress, a Magistrate and an elder in the Presby- 
terian Church. He died in 1791. His son, General 
Joseph (5), who was a lawyer, was Governor of New 
Jersey from 1801-12 and in Congress from 181 7-182 1. 
"He was a Republican and an abolitionist. When Aaron 
Burr was under indictment for murder in New Jer- 
sey, Governor Bloomfield refused to interfere in his 
behalf, although he had been his personal friend." He 
was also a Brigadier General and Attorney General 
of New Jersey. (Hildreth's Hist, of U. S.) The 
town of Bloomfield was named for him. He married 
a Miss Mcllvaine. They left no children. 

Samuel (5), another son of Dr. Moses (4), stud- 
ied medicine with his father. He married a daugh- 
ter of Joseph Ellis, of Gloucester, N. J., and had three 
sons, who came to maturity. The youngest two entered 
the army during the last war with Great Britain. One 
was killed in a duel near Greenbush, N. Y., the other 
fell in the battle of Little York, in Upper Canada. The 
eldest, Joseph (6), was consul at Cadiz in Spain, and 
on his return married Miss Barberouz, the daughter 

76 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

of a French gentleman who fled from St. Domingo at 
the time of a revolution on that island. Of 

Jonathan (4), (the younger son of Joseph (3) 
and Eunice Bloomfield) and his family, his son, John 
Wood ( 5 ) , wrote the following account when seventy- 
nine years old, in 1844, which was published in the 
"Rome Daily Sentinel," June 2, 1887: 

'Jonathan Bloomfield, my father, was born the 25th 
of Aug., 1735, and on the 12th of Jan., 1758, married 
Elizabeth Wood, daughter of John Wood, of Hunt- 
ington, L. I. (see Wood Family) by whom he had 
nine children, two sons and seven daughters, to wit : 
Jarvis, John Wood, Eunice, Betsey, Mary (died in 
1773), Sarah (died 1780), both under ten years of 
age ; Martha, Phebe and Mary. My mother died the 
22c\ of Aug., 1776, leaving eight children, the oldest 
about seventeen, the youngest a few days short of one 
year old." (This was Mary (5), who became the wife 
of John Carman, of Huntington, L. I.) 

"In October, 1776, the American Army retreated be- 
fore the British and encamped partly on my father's 
farm. He suffered but little damage from this, but 
the next day, he was "pressed" with his team to carry 
baggage to Trenton for the American army. My 
brother was sick and my father was obliged to go him- 
self. Two or three days after, the British Army en- 
camped on the same ground the Americans had occu- 
pied — and then destruction commenced. Every hoof 
was either purchased or driven off, the fences burned 
and the house plundered. They staid only one night 
and then moved forward. In about a week my father 

77 



GENEALOGY 

returned with his team and by secreting it, saved it. 
My brother continued some time very ill. On his re- 
covery he entered the American Army as a volunteer 
but was soon commissioned as an Ensign. 

"My father had no money to provide for his proper 
equipment and was obliged to sell one of his slaves, for 
this purpose. In Dec, 1776, the British army met with 
a check at Trenton and Princeton, which compelled 
them to fall back on Brunswick, and they finally con- 
centrated their forces at Arriboy. From this time for- 
aging parties of the British were out continually be- 
tween Amboy and Elizabethtown, and on the direct 
road between them lay my father's farm. These forag- 
ing parties and the militia were constantly skirmish- 
ing and several battles were fought around my father's 
house. At these times the children were put in the 
cellar. At one time, as the British fled out of the 
south door of the house, the militia entered it at the 
north side. This situation was trying to my father in 
the extreme. Not wealthy before these disasters, and 
now poor, yet something must be done to save himself 
and his family from utter destruction. 

"My Uncle Moses had entered the army as a surgeon ; 
he took his family with him when the army passed 
through Woodbridge. His son, Joseph, was also in 
the army, a captain, and was stationed at Fort Stan- 
wix in 1776 or 1777. My mother had a sister, who 
married William Cross, who lived at Basking Ridge ; 
also an aunt, a sister of her father, who had married a 
Mr. White. (At her home General Lee made his head- 
quarters at the time he was captured by a party of Brit- 

78 



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GENEALOGY 

ish horse.) Thither my father went to seek shelter for 
himself and family, in which he succeeded, and returned 
and took his children and housekeeper and transported 
them over the mountains to Basking Ridge, where he 
rented a house. Here he remained until the spring of 
1778, when he returned to his farm, the enemy having 
been driven out of New Jersey. His farm, however, 
was only three miles distant from the line dividing the 
two armies, and constantly subject to incursions of 
refugee parties from Staten Island. Here we re- 
mained, but in constant fear of being captured. Every 
night, we were under the necessity of removing our 
stock so as not to occupy the same place two nights 
in succession and lay in the open air with them. In 
the winter we had a place made under the hay-mow 
to lodge, but nothing special happened to us till the 
5th of August, 1780, when my sister, Sarah, was taken 
very ill and my father thought best to send to the camp 
for my Uncle Moses to come and see her, if, perhaps, 
by his skill, he might relieve her. He came and notice 
was given (to the enemy) by one of our neighbors of 
our situation ; my father and slave and myself, all in 
the house, the surgeon of the army and the parson of 
the parish. Here was a fine chance for catching a 
number of rebels, and a party of the refugees em- 
braced it. They came first to my father's house, took 
him and his slave and were about to take me. but my 
step-mother told them to let that little boy alone. (They 
said afterwards, if they had known how big I was, they 
should have taken me.) From thence they went to 
the parson's, took him and his negro man ; then to my 

80 



1 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

uncle, took him and a slave he had (who was a tory ) 
and thence to Daniel Moore, whom they took to cover 
him from suspicion of being the spy or informer, as he 
no doubt was. They then made the best of their way 
to Staten Island, from whence they let Moore and the 
doctor's man return. The rest were taken to Xew 
York and shut up in the sugar-house. My sister died 
the next day. My brother was immediately informed 
of this transaction and got leave of absence, came 
home, raised a company of volunteers, crossed over to 
Staten Island and surprised a British guard of twelve 
or fourteen men, took them without a gun being fired, 
with several of the principal tory inhabitants, and 
brought them off safe to Woodbridge. 

"The consequence was that my father, my uncle and 
the parson were exchanged within a fortnight. My 
father's negro man was told he might go free, but he 
replied that he would stay till he could go home with 
his master, which he did, not long after, being ex- 
changed for a British soldier. Nothing: further of con- 
sequence happened to us till the close of the war, ex- 
cept that in the winter of 1782 the refugees took a 
horse out of the stable within ten feet from where my 
father's negro man and myself were asleep in our secret 
lodging place, and we did not hear them. 

"This horse, however, my father recovered after 
the close of the war. 

"My brother, Jarvis, held the rank of lieutenant in 
the New Jersey line, but he was compelled by his 
straitened circumstances to withdraw, which he did in 
1 78 1, and went on board a privateer commanded by 

81 



GENEALOGY 

one Captain Truxton. The vessel on her first expedi- 
tion afterward was captured and my brother thrown 
into the prison-ship at New York, where he remained 
till the summer of 1782, when he was exchanged, and 
came home worn out by sickness caused by his un- 
wholesome confinement. As soon as he recovered, he 
formed a company of volunteers and fitted out sev- 
eral large boats, with which he made trips from the 
mouth of Woodbridge Creek round Staten Island and 
cut out several merchant ships. After the war he en- 
gaged in lumber trade between New York and the 
coast of Virginia. In returning to New York with 
the sloop which he commanded in 1794 he was thrown 
overboard by a sudden turn of the boom as he came 
on deck ; being sick and closely bound up in his over- 
coat, before assistance could reach him he was drowned. 
A few years before his death he had married and he 
left one daughter, Anna, now Anna Bernhard of Con- 
stantia, New York. 

"Those of my sisters who arrived at maturity mar- 
ried, to wit : Eunice married Jonathan Bloomfield ; 
Betsey, Nathan Bloomfield ; Martha, Richard Marsh ; 
Phebe, Timothy Jervis ; Mary, John Carman. All these 
have or have left children, except Betsey. 

"After the close of the war, I continued with my 
father, assisting him on the farm till the fall of 1786, 
when, through the influence of Joseph Bloomfield, I 
went to Burlington and became interested in the manu- 
facture of iron. In 1789 I married Ann Ellis, widow 
of Joseph Ellis and daughter of Samuel Bullus. Two 
years later the business partnership, into which I had 

82 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

entered, being dissolved, it was found that we had lost 
a good deal, my own loss being about $1,500 to $2,000, 
for which I was in debt to my cousin, Joseph Bloom- 
field. My father was not able to assist me, nor was 
my father-in-law, although my wife had handsome ex- 
pectations, from an entailed estate, which were after- 
ward realized. In this situation I was at a loss what 
to do. My father proposed to give up his farm to me 
and leave me to pay small legacies to my sisters, but this 
I absolutely refused to do, telling him that I desired no 
more than my equal share of the estate and that I would 
not consent but that he should remain in the possession 
and enjoyment of it during his life. At this time I held 
a bond of his for $250, which I had advanced to him 
when he purchased additional land at the time he set 
off a part of his farm to my brother, and my father, 
knowing that I was largely indebted to Joseph Bloom- 
field, was greatly distressed for fear this bond should 
be transferred to him. To quiet my father's apprehen- 
sions, I threw the bond into the fire, in his presence. 
I continued in the business of manufacturing iron, 
alone, till the fall of 1792. The next winter I was en- 
gaged in arranging the business of my father-in-law, 
Mr. Bullus. 

"I came to the State of New York for the first 
time in 1793. Mr. Mcllvaine, of Burlington, had pur- 
chased a tract of land (1,600 acres) in the present town 
of Lee from Joseph Bloomfield, whose title was de- 
rived through one Giles from Matchin, the original 
patentee, and one of the conditions of the patent was, 
that a certain number of settlers should be settled upon 

83 



GENEALOGY 

the land within a limited time. This time had nearly 
expired, and to make arrangements for fulfilling the 
conditions of the patent, and to inquire into the situa- 
tion and value of the land, I came as Mr. Mcllvaine's 
agent. I set out on horseback from Burlington in the 
early part of April and travelled through Newark and 
Bergen upon the west side of the Hudson River to 
Tappan, from thence to Esopus, to Albany and Schen- 
ectady. Of this place the Dutch had at that time full 
possession, and I believe there was not a single English 
inhabitant. I went up the Mohawk on the south side. 
The flats were under full cultivation, but not yet di- 
vided by fences. Even the road was entirely open, di- 
rectly through fields of grass and grain. The cattle 
of the settlers were kept principally upon the hills back 
of the river. I crossed the Mohawk above Little Falls 
and continued on to Fort Schuyler, which was a few 
rods lower down the river than the site of the present 
R. R. depot at Utica. About where the depot now 
stands was the only house, with one exception, within 
the limits of the present city of Utica. There was al- 
ready a large clearing of about two hundred acres, but 
I was unable to get food either for myself or my horse, 
and was obliged to continue on, without stopping, to 
Whitestown. This was the principal settlement, the 
headquarters of civilization of the county of Oneida. 
Here was the office of the county clerk, kept by Mr. 
(afterward Judge) Piatt. Here the county courts were 
held, and here was the most western post-office in the 
State. The mail had been brought so far only two or 
three years and was at first carried by a footman, but 

84 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

it was then brought on horseback. Here Judge White 
had been established with his family since 1784. His 
son, Col. White (father of the present Judge White), 
kept a public house on the opposite side of the road, 
and with him I put up. There were already two stores 
here, in one of which George Huntington had been 
previously engaged as a clerk, but he, at this time, was 
making arrangements to set up for himself at Fort 
Stanwix, to which place he went this same spring. 
There were in all perhaps from six to twelve houses 
scattered along the road within half a mile of Judge 
White's. I staid a week at Whitestown to recruit and 
make inquiries. 

"My journey had been at the rate of about forty 
miles a day and was fatiguing to me, not much accus- 
tomed to this mode of travelling. Oneida County then 
stretched far to the west and north of its present limits, 
and the town of Whitestown was nearly, or quite, co- 
extensive with it. The Indian title had been extin- 
guished in 1786 as to all the lands in the county except 
the reservation at Brothertown for the use of the rem- 
nants of several tribes from Xew England and Xew 
Jersey, the reservation of half a mile upon each side 
of Fish Creek, from the lake to near the source of the 
creek, made to secure to the Indians the right of fishing 
in its waters without disturbance from, or disturbing 
the whites, and several small reservations about Oneida 
Lake. The tract known as Scriba's patent had been 
contracted for with the State by an individual named 
Roosevelt at the rate of seven cents an acre, and Georere 
Scriba, of New York City, in company with four or 
five others, had taken an assignment of his contract. 

85 



GENEALOGY 

"At Whitestown, I agreed with one Young, a sur- 
veyor, who resided there and had assisted in running 
out the lands about which I came to inquire, to go with 
me and point out their boundaries and assist me in ex- 
ploring with a view to making a purchase. We came 
together to Fort Stanwix, where there was one house, 
a tavern kept by John Barnard, who was a tenant of 
Dominic Lynch, for the carrying ground between the 
Mohawk and Wood Creek. The carrying business was 
brisk and the house was crowded constantly with boat- 
men and emigrants. In this house, occupying part of 
the bar-room and of the bar with his goods, George 
Huntington, then a young, unmarried man, that spring 
opened his first store. Young and myself went over 
Mr. Mcllvaine's land and explored the tract since 
known as the 6000 acre lot, lying between Mr. Mc- 
llvaine's and the Indian reservation on Fish Creek, and, 
finding the land very good, formed a company to pur- 
chase of George Scriba four thousand acres, with per- 
mission in the contract to extend it to six thousand, if 
we thought proper. The company consisted of Daniel 
C. White, John Young, myself and one other. The 
contract was made by White and myself, who became 
responsible for the purchase money. We received a 
joint deed and gave a joint mortgage. The price was 
twelve shillings, one quarter to be paid on receiving 
the deed, which we were to receive the following De- 
cember and which we received. The other partners 
were bankrupt and could not hold any property, but 
could find means to make the first payment. After 
further exploring we concluded to extend the purchase 

86 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

to six thousand acres. The additional two thousand 
was, however, divided between White, Young and 
myself, which gave us in all near 1700 acres each. 
After allotting the tract, White and myself released 
to each other the lots as divided between us. 

"After this I went down Wood Creek in one of the 
small boats used in conveying goods. In the same boat 
was a Frenchman, who, a year or two before, had made 
his escape from France, carrying along a nun whom he 
had stolen from a convent there. He had married her 
and for the purpose of security had taken up his abode 
upon an island in Oneida Lake, about three miles from 
the shore and from the site of the present village 
of Rotterdam. The island contained about thirty 
acres of land. He built a log hut upon it, 
and supported himself and his wife mainly by 
fishing. I recollect hearing of a laughable ad- 
venture of his. At a time when he was very 
much in need of provisions he espied a bear swimming 
in the lake. He put off his boat to secure the prize, and 
succeeded in throwing around the animal a rope which 
was fastened to the end of the boat. He was afraid to 
come near enough to despatch him, and dared not bring 
him to the shore ; so he paddled about in the lake till 
he thought the bear was drowned and then brought him 
to the land and drew him up on the bank. The bear 
was only partially strangled and gave a gasp which so 
frightened the Frenchman that he ran away. His wife, 
however, with more spirit, seized an axe and dispatched 
the animal. This man remained till about 1796, when 
the revolution in France had made it safe for him to 

87 



GENEALOGY 

return home. He loaded his hoat with his wife and 
chattels, and through Wood Creek, the Mohawk and 
the Hudson — all the way in his own boat, he came to 
New York, where Mrs. Scriba aided him with funds 
to reach France. 

"I staid a night at Rotterdam, where Mr. Scriba had 
made something of a settlement, though he himself yet 
resided in New York. From Rotterdam I went to the 
mouth of the lake and engaged a settler, an experienced 
woodsman, to go with me by water to the mouth of the 
Salmon River and across the woods back to the lake. 
We provided ourselves with three or four days' pro- 
visions and a pocket compass, and took boat with a 
party of refugee tories, who, unable to remain in peace 
in the States, were emigrating to Canada. With them 
we went down the river to Oswego and reached the 
mouth of the Salmon River just as the day closed. 
Here we camped for the night. In the morning the 
boatmen set myself and my companions upon the oppo- 
site shore and stood out across the lake for the Canada 
shore. We laid a course with our compass, as near as 
we could judge, for the mouth of Oneida Lake and- 
struck off through the woods. At night, we built a 
hut of boughs, made up a good fire in front of it, and, 
though annoyed by the hooting of the owls and dis- 
turbed sometimes by the wild animals whom we could 
hear crackling among the' bushes around us, we lodged 
safely and not unpleasantly. Soon after this I set out 
on my return to N. J. I had a letter of introduction 
to Judge Sanger, of New Hartford, and called at his 
house on my way, but did not find him at home, and 

88 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

continued on through the present town of Bridgewater 
down the Unadilla River to Carr's Place, an old settle- 
ment made hefore the (Revolutionary) war on the west 
side of the river near its junction with the Susque- 
hanna. Here I crossed and went to Cooperstown, where 
I spent a night with William Cooper, whom I had pre- 
viously known at Burlington, where he had lived before 
his removal to New York State. In the early part of 
the Revolutionary War Cooper was an oysterman and 
fishmonger at Burlington. He married a Miss Fenni- 
more, daughter of a small farmer who lived at the 
mouth of Rancocas Creek on the banks of the Dela- 
ware, and opened a store in Burlington, in the latter 
part of the war. He was an enterprising man and be- 
came agent, afterward, for the sale of lands in Xew 
York belonging to several owners in Burlington and 
Philadelphia. In the course of his business he secured 
a good deal of the best land to himself and gathered to- 
gether a very valuable estate. I think Cooper settled 
at the foot of Otsego Lake in 1788-9. When I vis- 
ited him there were perhaps half a dozen log houses 
there and Cooper himself lived in a frame house, the 
only one in the place, about where his son, Fennimore, 
now resides. From Cooperstown I went up the west 
side of the lake to the head of it, through what is now 
the town of Springfield, to Fort Plain, thence down 
the south side of the Mohawk to Schenectady and so 
on to Albany, where I crossed the river and reached 
the village of Hudson on the 4th of July. Here, tired 
of travelling on horseback, I shipped myself and my 
horse to New York and reached Burlington about the 
10th of July, t 793." 

89 



GENEALOGY 

John Wood Bloomfield (5) settled in Annsville, 
which was named after his wife, in 1794, near the resi- 
dence of Dr. Beach, in what is now called Taberg. In 
1804 he removed to Rome, where he bought a farm of 
forty acres, which included that part of the city now 
bounded by Washington, Bloomfield, Madison and Elm 
streets. The house which he lived in was removed to 
the corner of Elm street and Turin road. "He was 
a surveyor by occupation. At one time he had charge 
of the iron works at Constantia and was also interested 
in iron works at Taberg. He was a gentleman of the 
old school, a public-spirited citizen and a benevolent 
man. During four years he served as President of 
the village of Rome. When the first church was built 
he headed the subscription list with a liberal amount. 
He died in 1849, an ^ was buried in the New Cemetery. 
By his will he gave more than one-half his estate to 
benevolent purposes." ("Rome Sentinel.") His sister, 
Phebe, who married Timothy Jervis, was the mother 
of the Hon. John Bloomfield (6) Jervis, the eminent 
civil engineer. He was superintendent of the building 
of the Erie and other canals and designed many im- 
portant works, such as the Croton Aqueduct and the 
High Bridge over the Harlem River. He was also 
consulting engineer to supply Boston with water. The 
town of Port Jervis was named for him. He was au- 
thor of a book on "Railway Property," and of another 
on "Capital and Labor." After the death of his wife, 
their home, on the site of the home of John Wood 
Bloomfield, was given to the City of Rome, together 
with his private library, for a public library. "He lived 

90 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

a life of industry, economy and Christian rectitude," 
and died at Rome in 1885. 

Jonathan (4) Bloomfield, father of John Wood (5) 
and Mary (5) Bloomfield, was a minute man in the 
New Jersey militia, as certified by the Adjutant Gen- 
eral of the State in 1895. 

After the War of the Revolution was over he was 
elder in the church and school commissioner. (See 
Daily's "Hist, of Woodbridge, X. J.") He died in 
1 810 and his tombstone is in the cemetery at Wood- 
bridge. There is also a stone in memory of his little 
daughter Sarah, who died the day after her father and 
Uncle Moses were taken prisoners by the British, as 
told in the foregoing narrative by John Wood (5) 
Bloomfield. 

Mary (5), born 1775, married in 1797 John Car- 
man, of "Half Hollow Hills," town of Huntington, 
L. I. (See Carman Family.) Their daughter, 

Elizabeth (6), married Jan. 22, 1823, John Rog- 
ers Brush, of West Hills, town of Huntington. L. I. 
(See Brush Family.) Their son, 

George Washington (7) Brush, married M. 
Annette Bowers. (See Bowers Family.) Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is eighth in descent. 






\ f 









v 



The Bowers Family 



GEORGE BOWER, or Bowers, the first of 
the name in this country, is mentioned as being 
in Scituate, Mass., in 1637, m Plymouth soon 
after, and at Cambridge in 1639, where he lived on 
the east side of North Avenue, near the railroad 
bridge. He and his first wife, Barbara, were born in 
England, and probably several of their children also. 
(According to "Burke's Armoury" the Bower family 
had ten coats of arms and Bowers three.) 

One son, Benanuel (2), who was of Charlestown, 
is said to have "suffered much as a Quaker," as did his 
son, George. Benanuel (2) married Elizabeth Duns- 
ter 1653. She is called "cousin" of Henry Dunster, 
the first President of Harvard College. He was son of 
Henry of Balehoult, a seat in Bury, Lancashire, Eng- 
land. He graduated from Magdalen College, Cam- 
bridge, England, took degrees in 1630 and 1634, came 
to Cambridge, Mass., 1640, where he was a "freeman" 
in 1 64 1. Soon after coming he was made President 
of Harvard. His will mentions two sons and "daugh- 
ter Elizabeth," who may have been the one who mar- 
ried Benanuel Bowers. Another son of George (1) 
was the Rev. John Bower, of Derby and Guilford, 
Conn., who was graduated from Harvard in 1649 and 
taught school in Plymouth in 1650. (See Hist, of Rev. 

92 



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GENEALOGY 

John Bower by C. C. Baldwin, a reprint from W. C. 
Sharpe's Hist, of Seymour, Conn.) 

Barbara, wife of George Bower (i), died in 1644, 
and he then married Elizabeth Worthin^ton and "had 

"Jerathmael (2), born May 2, 1650, probably in 
Chelmsford, Mass. There were also two daughters, 
Patience and Silence." George (1) died 1656, leav- 
ing "Jerathmael to inherit with his mother the old 
homestead at Cambridge." 

Jerathmael (2) is referred to in the records as a 
"prominent inhabitant" and a representative to the 
General Court or Legislature. He married Elizabeth 

, and is recorded at Chelmsford as one of the 

proprietors of a tract of five hundred acres of land 
bought from a Major Henchman in 1686. 

Samuel (3) was married to Esther Satley in 1709 
(Charlestown Genealogies). Their son, 

Jeramael (4), was born in Groton, Mass. "Jera- 
mael filius Samuel and Esther Bowers, baptized Aug. 
18, 1717." (Groton Records.) 

Jeramael (4) married Eunice, daughter of 

Benjamin and Anna Bennett, Feb. 9, 1748, "both 
of Groton." Their son, 

John (5), was born Sept. 2, 1757, probably at Gro- 
ton, Mass. He was a soldier in the War of the Revolu- 
tion, having enlisted in Col. Asa Whitcomb's regiment 
in 1775, from Leominster, Mass., according to certifi- 
cate from the office of the Secretarv of State of Massa- 
chusetts, in 1895. 

He married Elizabeth Boutelle, of Leominster. Dec. 
11, 1784. (See Boutelle Family.) 

94 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

"After serving with honor he returned and emi- 
grated to the wilds of New Hampshire, and purchased 
land in the northern part of Hancock, in 1780. (In 
1895 this property was owned by his grandson, Sam- 
uel.) 

"Having cleared his land and built a cabin he 
brought his young wife from Massachusetts." They 
were anion? the seventeen original members of the first 
church. (See History of Hancock, N. H.) They had 
six children, John (6), Relief (6), Mary (6), James 
(6), Luke (6), and Mark (6). John (5) died Aug. 
10, 1808, and his wife March 12, 1845. 

Both were buried at Hancock. 

His gravestone is a large slate slab with the con- 
ventional willows at the top, and this inscription be- 
low : 

"Death, thou hast conquered me — 

I, by thee, am slain, 
But Christ has conquered thee, 

And I shall rise again." 

John (6) Bowers, son of John and Elizabeth, was 
born Feb. 27, 1786, and was married March 1, 1809, 
to Ursula Brooks, by the Rev. Reed Page, at Hancock. 
(See Brooks Family.) He was a farmer in a region 
where rocks abound, and only industry and frugality 
could have enabled him to bring up his family of 
thirteen children. Their names were Elizabeth (7), 
John (7), Abigail (7), William (7), Ursula Ann (7), 
Mary J. (7), George (7), Isaac Walter (7), James (7), 
Charles (7), Lorin (7), Sanford (7), and Charlotte 

95 



GENEALOGY 

(7). John (6) died Oct. 2, 1840, his wife, Ursula, 
Oct. 10, 1856. Their graves are in Oakwood Ceme- 
tery, at Troy, N. Y. Their son, 

Isaac Walter (7), was born May 3, 182 1, and 
married June 19, 1843, Adeliza Tirzah Baldwin, of 
Hoosick Falls, N. Y. (See Baldwin Family.) He 
was exceedingly fond of study all his life, and when 
actively engaged in business he frequently studied far 
into the night, and when, in later life, he retired from 
his profession of dentistry, he spent most of his time 
in the study of evolution and astronomy, the comput- 
ing of eclipses and similar work. One daughter, Alice 
Adeliza (8), was born at Hoosick Falls, Dec. 8, 1845. 
The only other child, Maria Annette (8), was born 
at Troy, Jan. 21, 1850. In 1859 the family moved to 
Brooklyn, where, some years later, on account of some 
annoying experiences with his name, Isaac, he had 
it legally changed to Henry, retaining the middle name 
of Walter. He died at Saratoga Springs, March 9, 
1 89 1. Adeliza Tirzah, his wife, died in Brooklyn, N. 
Y., June 9, 1900. Their graves are in the Rural Ceme- 
tery at Huntington, L. I. 

Their daughter, Alice Adeliza (8), was married 
March 30, 1865, to Capt. George W. Brush, of the 
34th U. S. C. T., by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. She 
was lost at sea Oct. 22, 1865. (See Brush Family.) 

Maria Annette (8), second daughter of Isaac 
(Henry) W. (7) and Adeliza T. Bowers, was mar- 
ried to George W. Brush Jan. 21, 1868, by the Rev. 
Henry Ward Beecher. Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, was born Feb. 12, 1873, 
and is ninth in descent. 

96 




Mrs. Adeliza T. Bowers and her two daughters, 
Alice A. and M. Annette. 1855. 



-> 



The Brooks Family 



HINMAN, in his "Early Settlers of Connecti- 
cut," says that Brooks and Brookes were 
names of Scotch families, and had but one coat 
of arms, while Brook and Brooke were of England 
and had many. The Brookes arms are described thus : 
"Sa, 3 escallops or, Crest, a beaver pass. Motto, Per- 
severando." 

Henry (i) Brookes, of Concord and Woburn, 
Mass., the first of the line in this country, appears on 
the tax list of the latter town in 1649. Woburn, which 
was one of the earliest settlements, was first called 
Charlestown village. (See Woburn Historic Sites.) 
Henry (1) married Susanna, widow of Ezekiel Rich- 
ardson, who died in 1681. In 1682 he married Annis 
Jaquith. In his will he mentions his wife, Annis, sons 
John (2) and Isaac (2), and daughter Sarah (2), wife 
of John Mousall. He died in 1683. His son, 

John (2), married in 1649, Eunice Mousall (sister 
of John Mousall, the husband of his sister, Sarah). 
The father of these two, Deacon John Mousall, was 
an original grantee of the town, one of the first seven 
members of the first church, and selectman for twenty- 
one successive years. In his will he mentions "my 
two sons," referring to his own son and his son-in- 
law, John Brooks. He left considerable property for 

98 



BRUSH— BOWERS. 

those times. "Hopewell House" was owned in com- 
mon by John Brooks and John Mousall, in 1673. In 
1676 John (2) took part in King Philip's war, and in 
1684 his wife, Eunice, died. Shortly after he mar- 
ried Mary, widow of Theophilus Richardson, who was 
son of Ezekiel and Susanna Richardson, who, there- 
fore, was already the mother-in-law of Mary. 

John (2) volunteered and went with the Phipps' 
Expedition to Quebec, Canada, in 1690. (See Mass. 
Archives, vol. 36, pp. 346-7.) His death in 1691 was 
probably hastened by the exposures incident to this 
campaign, as he must have been over sixty years old 
at the time. His widow died in 1704. 

John (3), son of John (2) and Eunice, was born 
1664, and died 1733. His son, 

Nathan (4), was born 1706, and married, 1726, 
Sarah, daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Fowle) 
Wyman, of Woburn. Sarah died 1747. Nathan, in 
1 75 1. Their son, 

William (5), was born in Woburn 1737, and 1757 
married Abigail, daughter of Zerubbabel and Abigail 
Kemp. They removed to Hollis, N. H., where their 
son, 

William (6), was born, 1760. He married first 
Deborah, daughter of Robert Parker, of Groton, Mass., 
1782, who died 1824. He afterward married Hepsibah, 
daughter of William and Sarah Draper, of Francetown, 
N. H. 

William (6) Brooks was an officer in the Revolu- 

9 

tionary army, and according to a certificate of service 
from the office of the Adjutant General of the State, he 

99 



GENEALOGY 

enlisted Aug. 6, 1778, as ensign of Capt. Emerson's 
Company, Col. Moses Nichols' Regiment, for the ex- 
pedition in Rhode Island. The soldiers of the army 
of that time do not seem to have enlisted for any defi- 
nite time, but for a specific service. Also, on Sept. 1, 
1778, he was enrolled as Sergeant of Capt. Nathaniel 
Chapman's Company, Col. Flower's Regiment of Ar- 
tillery and Artificers. Discharged March 18, 1780. 
Again "the returns of the 5th Reg't of Militia of the 
state of N. H. for three months" shows "Lieut. Will- 
iam Brooks of Hollis" to have marched Sept. 23, 1781. 
He was called "Major Brooks," but the above is the 
record of active service. The title of Major may have 
been by brevet. After the war he was farmer and 
blacksmith, besides representing the town of Hancock, 
N. H., to which he had removed in 1786, for ten years, 
in the "General Court" or Legislature, from 1798 to 
1808, excepting the year 1802. (See History of Han- 
cock, N. H.) He died in 1843 m Greenfield, N. H. 
His grave is at Hancock. His third child, 

Ursula (7), was born in 1788. The old house is 
still standing in which she was born, and the present 
owner is Mrs. Caroline L. Chase. It has been recently 
altered and repaired. Members of the Bowers family 
living at Hancock relate that members of the previous 
generation told of the generous hospitality of the 
Brooks family and of the merry times enjoyed at their 
home when Ursula (7) and her brothers and sisters 
were young, especially mentioning the courtesies ex- 
tended to the students attending the excellent school 
there. A small portrait of Ursula (7) Brooks, taken 

700 



BRUSH— BOWERS. 

in her later life, is in the possession of the writer. She 
married John Bowers March i, 1809. (See Bowers 
Family.) Their son, 

Isaac Walter (8) Bowers, married Adeliza T. 
Baldwin, June 19, 1843. Their daughter, 

Maria Annette (9) married George W. Brush. 
Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is tenth in descent. 

Mr. Z. W. Brooks, of Hancock, N. H., and Mr. 
William R. Cutter, Librarian of Woburn (Mass.) Li- 
brary, both descendants from Henry Brooks, of Wo- 
burn, have kindly contributed items for this sketch. 





The Boutelle Family 



THE family is of ancient Norman descent, went 
to England with the Conqueror, and came from 
England to this country in the very early days. 
The name was originally De Boutville, and so appears 
on the Battle Abbey Roll. Before the 14th Century 
it was changed to Boutelle, or Boutwell. (American 
Ancestry.) 

The records of this line are quite complete, and 
doubtless many particulars could be learned, as a large 
collection, described as "a trunk full of papers/' which 
belonged to Mr. John A. Boutelle, late of Woburn, 
Mass., are now the property of the "New England His- 
torical and Genealogical Society," of Boston. Two 
brothers, James and John, settled in Massachusetts 
about 1636. John removed to the New Haven Colony 
the same year. 

James (i) Boutelle was a farmer of Salem and 
Lynn, Mass. He is said to have "owned rights in 
Westfield towards Cambridge in 1638." He made his 
will in 1 65 1, mentioning his wife, Alice, sons James (2) 
and John (2), and a daughter, Sara (2). He also 
had a son, Samuel (2). 

James (2) Boutelle was born in 1642, and mar- 
ried at Reading, Mass., Rebecca, daughter of "Deacon" 
Thomas and Rebecca Kendall. She was born Feb. 10, 

102 



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GENEALOGY 

1645, an d died 1713. Her husband, James (2), died 
1716. Their son, 

James (3), was born at Reading, April 6, 1666, 
and married Jan. 20, 1690, Elizabeth Frothingham, 
born Feb. 15, 1673. She was daughter of Samuel and 
Ruth (George) Frothingham, who were married in 
1668. Samuel was son of William Frothingham, of 
Yorkshire (Holderness) England, who came with 
Winthrop's fleet in 1630. He was in Charlestown in 

1632, married Anna , who was born 1607, an d 

died 1674. William died 165 1. James (3) died Jan. 
18, 1713. His grave is at Reading. His widow, Eliza- 
beth, married Benj. Swayne. 

James (4) was born at Reading, Dec. 25, 1690, 
married Judith Poole Feb. 7, 1723. They lived in Sud- 
bury and Framingham. He owned "rights" in New 
Framingham and in Leominster, Mass., where he was 
one of the first settlers. His gravestone and that of 
his wife at Leominster are inscribed as follows : "In 
memory of Dea. James Boutell who died Aug. 22, 
1752, in the 53d year of his age" and "Memento Mori 
— erected in memory of the widow Judith Boutell who 
departed this life May 28th, 1791, in the 91st year 
of her age. 

As you are now, so once was I, 
As I am now, so you must be, 
Prepare thyself to follow me." 
Stop, passenger as you go by 

James (5), their son, was born in Sudbury, April 
9, 1726, and April 16, 1752, married Elizabeth Smith. 

104 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

He died Oct. n, 1791. Their graves are also at 
Leominster, where 

Elizabeth (6), their daughter, was born March 
12, 1759. A "sampler" embroidered by her contained 
the letters of the alphabet and her initials, and is now 
in the possession of the writer, her great-grand- 
daughter. William (6), a brother of Elizabeth, served 
in the Revolutionary War under General Stark, at 
the Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777. 

The name James has been continued, a tenth 
James Boutelle being now living. The family is said 
to be characterized by "marked ability with a disposi- 
tion to investigate each for hmself, rather than to ac- 
cept the conclusions of others." Elizabeth (6) mar- 
ried John Bowers Dec. 11, 1784. (See Bowers Family.) 

One Henry Boutelle, of Cambridge, married Eliza- 
beth, widow of George Bower, or Bowers, in 1657. 
This was evidently Elizabeth Worthington, the sec- 
ond wife of the first of the name of Bowers in this 
country, the mother of Jerathmael, who was born 
1650. This shows that the names and families of 
Bowers and Boutelle were joined more than a century 
before John Bowers and Elizabeth (6) Boutelle were 
married in 1784. Their son, John (7) Bowers, mar- 
ried Ursula Brooks, (See .Brooks Family.) Their 
son, 

Isaac Walter (8) Bowers, married Adeliza T. 
Baldwin. (See Baldwin Family.) Their daughter, 

Maria Annette (9) Bowers, married George W. 
Brush. (See Brush Family.) Their son, 
Herbert Bowers Brush, is tenth in descent. 

105 



The Baldwin Family 



THE name, in one form or another, is found in 
many European languages, in the German, 
Scandinavian and Italian. "Bald" means bold 
or quick, and "win" signifies victor. 

The family was in England as early as 672, and 
was noted in history. 

In the famous Roll of Battle Abbey one of the 
name is mentioned as contemporaneous with Alfred 
the Great, whose son, Baldwin the second, married 
Elstruth, daughter of Alfred. Baldwin the fifth mar- 
ried a daughter of Robert of France, whose daughter 
married William the Conqueror. 

Sir John Baldwin, of Buckinghamshire, was Chief 
Justice of Common Pleas from 1 536-1 546. His home 
was at Aylesbury. He and one Richard Baldwin were 
the ancestors of most of the name in America.* Rich- 
ard, of Donrigge, Parish Aston, Clinton, Bucking- 
hamshire, yeoman, left a large property in 1553. Rich- 
ard, of Cholesbury, his son (or grandson), died in 
1633, and his three sons emigrated to New England 
and appeared in the list of "free planters" at Milford, 
Conn., in 1639. He is described as "an educated, lead- 



ing man." 



: The family arms consist of a shield with three pairs of hazel or 
oak leaves arranged upon it, with a golden squirrel above. The mottoes 
were "Je n'oublerai pas" and "Est Voluntas Dei." 

IOG 



BRUSH— BOWERS. 

Some of the family remained at Milford and other 
towns in Connecticut, and others went to Massachu- 
setts. 

The preceding account is mainly derived from the 
full and very interesting ''History of the Baldwin 
Family," in two volumes, by the late Judge C. C. Bald- 
win, of Cleveland, Ohio, who visited Dundridge in 
Bucks, England, in 1870. He says "there have al- 
ways been many lawyers in the family." 

It is probable that the ancestors of Levi Baldwin 
went to Massachusetts, perhaps to Billerica, where one 
of the founders in this country settled, and from here 
went to Dorset, Vermont. The Christian names of 
this Dorset branch of the family are largely identical 
with those in use in the Dummerston and Jamaica 
families. The description of a Benjamin Baldwin, 
of Dorset, recalls the "Uncle Ben," of Chester, Ver- 
mont, of later days. "He had a powerful physique, was 
warm-hearted and generous, fond of good stories," etc. 

The earliest ancestor of whom family records are 
obtainable lived in Dummerston, Vt, of which it is 
said, in Thompson's "History of Vermont," that "it 
was one of the first towns settled in the State, but 
there is no account of its early history." This seems 
to have been the case in many towns in Vermont and 
New Hampshire, in contrast with the early settlements 
in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where, especially in 
the latter State, the town records were kept in such an 
accurate manner that excellent town histories have 
been published, in recent years, largely from facts 
gleaned from these records. The name of Dummers- 

107 



GENEALOGY 

ton was from that of a man named Dummer, who was 
prominent in the local history. 

John (i) Baldwin appears on the tax list of 1801. 
He married Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Obedi- 
ence Jones, of Dummerston. 

They, John and Mary Baldwin, had nine children, 
namely, Levi (2), Obedience (2) or "Beda/' John (2), 
Benjamin (2), Asa (2), Polly (2), Relief (2), Elmena 
(2), and Sarah (2). 

Levi (2), the first child, was born in 1773 and 
married Bathsheba, daughter of Ebenezer Fisher, of 
Brattleboro, Vt., whose grave is at Brattleboro. 

They lived many years in Jamaica, Vt., where their 
children were born. Levi (2) died May 8, 1S40, and 
his wife, Bathsheba, Jan. 22, 1857. 

Levi (3), born March 2, 1796, married Dec. 2, 
1819, Tirzah, daughter of John and Chloe Wellman. 
(See Wellman Family.) 

Levi (3) and Tirzah Baldwin had six children, 
Angeline (4), born 1820; Elkanah (4), 1822; Minerva 
(4), 1825; Adeliza Tirzah (4), 1823; Sarah (4), 1827, 
and Nelson W. (4), 1830, all born at Jamaica, Vt., 
where Levi (3) was a farmer, as was his father 
before him. After some years spent in Hoosick Falls. 
N. Y., several of their children having settled in Troy 
they went there also and there Tirzah died, April 18, 
1856. Elkanah (4) and Minerva (4) went to Califor- 
nia soon after, and the father went with them. He 
died there, Aug. 30, 1865. His grave, with monument, 
is at Franklin, Sacramento County. His daughter, 

Adeliza Tirzah (4), born Feb. 23, 1823, married 

108 



BRUSH— BOWERS 

Isaac Walter Bowers, at Hoosick Falls, June 19, 1843. 
(See Bowers Family.) Their daughter, 

Maria Annette (5), married George W. Brush. 
Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is sixth in descent. 




The Wellman Family 



THE family came from England, and the Rev. 
Dr. Joshua W. Wellman is at the time of the 
publication of this sketch in correspondence 
with Mr. Samuel Welman, of Overton, Godalming, 
England, who has furnished some valuable records 
and information respecting the English ancestors. Dr. 
Wellman is a retired Congregational minister, for 
many years settled at Maiden, Mass. He has pub- 
lished several books and is collecting material for a 
family genealogy which he hopes soon to complete and 
publish. A small volume of Wellman genealogy, writ- 
ten by Rev. James Wellman, was printed at Salem, 
Mass., in 1867. 

Thomas (i) Wellman came from London in the 
"Hopewell," February, 1634, when he was twenty- 
one years old. (Hotton's Lists of Emigrants to 
America, 1600- 1700.) Lie was in Lynn, Mass., 1640, 
and died 1672. His son, 

Abraham (2), married Elizabeth Cogswell. They 
were "of Lynnfield." Their eldest son, 

Thomas (3), was born 1669. He had four sons, 
David (4), Joseph (4), Samuel (4) and Benjamin 
(4), who moved from Lynnfield to Norton, Mass. 

Samuel (4) married Hannah Hall, Jan. 9, 1730, 
Rev. Joseph Avery officiating. Their son, 

no 





Reuben (5), was born in Mansfield, "formerly 
North Precinct in Norton," the same year. Jan. 16, 
1752, he married Alary Grover. They had eleven 
children. With this family and a group of relatives 
and friends they moved to Packersville (now Nelson), 
N. H. They were among the first settlers of the town 
and helped to organize the first church in that place. 
Reuben (5) Wellman was its first deacon. Among 
those who went to Packersville with them were James 
and Sarah (Wellman) Grover and George and Mary 
(Wellman) Brintnall. After living there a few years 
they all left the place, James Grover and his family 
going to Bethel, Maine; Reuben (5) Wellman and 
and family to Jamaica, Vt., where Reuben (5) and his 
wife died. Their son, 

John Wellman (6) was born Sept. 30, 1755. He 
was a soldier of the Revolution, having been a member 
of the Sixth Regiment of Vermont in 1780, and in 
1 78 1 he was in Capt. George Sexton's Company of 
Volunteers, belonging to Col. Ebenezer Walbridge's 
Regiment, from Aug. 12 to Nov. 20, as certified by the 
Adjutant General of Vermont, in 1895. ( )n April 26, 
1784, he married Chloe, daughter of Elkanah and 
Mehitabel Wellman. They had twelve children. 
Charles (7), 1785; John (7), 1786; Sally (7), 1788; 
Elkanah (7), 1790; Anna (7), 1792; Tirzah (7), 1796: 
Seba (7), 1797: Asa (7), 1799; Loany (7), 1800; Reu- 
ben (7), 1803; Abigail (7), and Nelson (7), 1807. 
Their daughter, 

Tirzah (7), born Jan. 13, 1796, married Levi 
Baldwin, Dec. 2, T819. (See Baldwin Family.) A small 



in 



GENEALOGY 

portrait in oil colors of Tirzah Wellman is in the 
possession of the writer, her granddaughter. 

The descent of Chloe Wellman was as follows : 

Thomas (i) Wellman, who came in the "Hope- 
well" in 1634, and who was of Lynn, in 1640. His 
son, 

Isaac (2), married Hannah Adams. Their son, 

Ebenezer (3) married Sarah Hull. Their son, 

Elkanah (4), married Mehitabel Bancroft. (See 
Bancroft Family.) Their daughter, 

Chloe (5), married John Wellman. Their daugh- 
ter, 

Tirzah (6), married Levi Baldwin. Their daugh- 
ter, 

Adeliza Tirzah Baldwin, was seventh in descent 
in the line of her grandmother, Chloe (5"), and eighth 
in line of her grandfather, John (6) Wellman. She 
married Isaac Walter Bowers. Their daughter, 

Maria Annette (9) Bowers, married George W. 
Brush. Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is tenth in descent. 



112 



The Bancroft Family 



JOHN (i), of Lynn, probably came with his 
wife, Jane, in the "James," from London, in 
1632. In the list dated April, 1632, of ''men 
and women who are to pass to New England to be 
resident upon a plantacon and have tendered their oath 
of allegiance and supremacie," are the names of John 
and Jane Barcrofte (see Hotton's Lists). In London, 
in 1602, the family had two coats of arms. John (1) 
died about 1637, leaving a widow and sons, John (2) 
and Thomas (2). 

Thomas (2) Bancroft was probably born in Eng- 
land. He was called Lieut. Bancroft. He married, at 
Dedham, Mass., Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Met- 
calf. He was freeman 1678 and died 1705, his widow, 
1 71 1. Llis son, 

Thomas (3), married Sarah, daughter of Jonathan 
Poole. He was called "Deacon." He died 1718. His 
son, 

Capt. Samuel (4), in 1713 married Sarah, daughter 
of Samuel and Alary Nichols. Sarah died 1733. Their 
son, 

Nathaniel (5), born 1720, married Mehitabel . 

(Samuel (5), a brother of Nathaniel, was grandfather 
of George (7) Bancroft, the historian and diplomat. 
After graduating at Cambridge, George (7) Bancroft 

ti3 



GENEALOGY 

studied and traveled extensively in Europe. In 1845 
he was Secretary of the Navy, from 1846- 1849 ne was 
Minister to Great Britain, and in 1867 Minister to 
Prussia. 

Mehitabel (6) Bancroft, daughter of Nathaniel 
and Mehitabel, was born at Sherborne, Mass., Sept. 
10, 1745, and married Elkanah Wellman. She died at 
Jamaica, Vt. Their daughter, 

Chloe (7) Wellman, married John Wellman. 
(See Wellman Family.) Their daughter, 

Tirzah (8), married Levi Baldwin. (See Baldwin 
Family.) Their daughter, 

Adeliza Tirzah (9) Baldwin, married Isaac Wal- 
ter Bowers. Their daughter, 

Maria Annette (10) Bowers, married George W. 
Brush. Their son, 

Herbert Bowers Brush, is eleventh in descent. 




Index of Persons Referred to other than 
Subjects of Sketches 



Page 

Adams, Hannah 112 

Ainsworth, Col. F. C 30 

Anne, Queen 58 

Asquith, Annis 98 

Avery, Rev. Joseph no 

Barbarouz, Miss 76 

Barker, Mrs. Joseph 23 

Barnard, John 86 

Beach, Dr 90 

Bennett, Anna 94 

Bennett, Benjamin 94 

Bennett, Eunice 94 

Bergen's "Early Settlers". 51 

Bernhard, Anna 82 

Beecher, Henry Ward... 33,96 

Booth 9 

Breeze, Rear-Admiral . . . . 55 

Breeze, Sarah 55 

Bridgman's "King's Chap- 
el" 70 

Brinckerhoff, Abraham 

Joris 52 

Brinckerhoff,Theo.Van W. 54 

Brinckerhoff, Joris Dirck. 52 

Brinckerhoff, Margretia. . 52 

Brintnall, George in 

Brintnall, Mary 1 1 1 

Bullus, Samuel 82 

Burr, Aaron 76 

Burke's "Armoury" 68, 73, 92 

Carteret, Lord 73 

Chapman, Capt. Nathaniel. 100 

Chase, Caroline L 100 

Chickinoc 9 

Clinton, Gov. De Witt... 21 
Clinton, Colonial - Gov. 

George 64 

115 



Page 

Cogswell, Elizabeth no 

Cooper, William 89 

Cooper, Fennimore 89 

Concklyne, John 9 

Coukling, Elizabeth 14 

Conkling, Phebe 17 

Comegyns 7 

Cortelyou, Simon 59 

Cromwell, Oliver 73 

Cross, William 78 

Cummings, M. E 7 

Cutter, W. R 101 

Daily's Hist, of Wood- 
bridge, N. J 91 

De Lancey, Lieut. -Gov. . . 16 

Denton, Rev. Richard... 64 

Draper, Hepsibah 99 

Draper, Sarah 99 

Draper, William 99 

Dubbles, Susanna 52 

Dunham, Easter 74 

Dunham, Jonathan 74 

Dunham, Unis 74 

Dunster, Elizabeth 92 

Dunster, President 92 

Edward VI. of England. . 71, 72 

Eldert, Rachel 59 

Eliot, Indian Apostle.... 63 

Elizabeth, Queen 71 

Ellis, Ann 82 

Ellis, Joseph 76, 82 

Emerson, Capt 100 

Fennimore, Miss 89 

Fisher, Bathsheba 108 

Fisher, Ebenezer 108 

Fleat, Pheby 14 



INDEX 



Page 

Flower, Col ioo 

Floyd, Col 15 

Fordham, Florence 63 

Fordham, John 63 

Fordham, Rev. Robert . . 64 

Fordham, Philip . , 64 

Frothingham, Elizabeth. . 104 

Frothingham, Ruth 104 

Frothingham, Samuel.... 104 

Frothingham, William... 104 

Gervaise 48 

Giles 83 

Grover, James 111 

Grover, Mary 1 1 1 

Grover, Sarah 111 

Hager, Frances 25 

Hall, Hannah no 

Hamilton, Alexander 64 

Hapwood, Anne 66 

Hays, Alice May 38 

Hays, Alice (Butler) 38 

Hays, Hiram W 38 

Hawley, Thos 71 

Henchman, Major 94 

Hendrickson, John 18 

Hewlett (place) 60 

Hewlett, Hannah 59 

Plicks, family 52 

Hobart, Rev. Peter 10 

Hildreth's Hist, of U. S. 76 

Hobart, Rev. Jeremiah.. 10,38 

Hobart, Bishop J. H 10 

Hottoirs, Lists of Emi- 
grants, etc 16, no, 113 

Howell's Hist, of South- 
ampton, L. 1 43 

Hugins, Martha 13, 48 

Hull, Gen 39 

Hull, Sarah 112 

Huntington, George 85 

Ingersoll, Dorothy 16 

Ingersoll, Hannah 16 

Ingersoll, John 16 

Ireland, Joseph 14 

Ireland, Margaret 40 



Jaquith, Annis 

Jarvis, Jane (Powell) .... 

Jarvis, j ohn 

Jarvis, Mary J 

Jarvis, Phebe 45, 

Jarvis, Capt. Thomas. . . . 

Jennings, Elizabeth 

Jennings, Hezekiah 

Jervis, Mr. & Mrs. B. F. 

Jervis, Hon. John B 

Jervis, Timothy 

Johnson, Alice Dean 

Johnson, Edward A 

Johnson, Henry M 

Johnson, Louise C 

Jones, Benjamin 

Jones, Mary 

Tones, Obedience 



Keeler, Sarah 

Kelsey, Daniel 

Kelsey, Hannah .... 

Kelsey, Mary 

Kelsey, Stephen 

Kemp, Abigail 

Kemp, Zerubabel. . . 
Kendall, Rebecca... 
Kendall, Thomas. . . 
Ketcbam, Sarah. . . . 
Ketcham, Stisannah , 



Lambert's Hist, of N. H. 
Lamont, Hon. D. S. . . . 

Lee, Gen 

Lewis, Jemima 

Lewis, Jonathan 

Lewis, Sybel 

Livingston, Robert R. . . 

Lord, Dorothy 

Lord, Thomas 

Lynch, Dominic 



Mapes, Thomas. 
Marple, Gen. W. 
Marsh, Richard. 

Matchin 

Mcllvaine, Mr. . 
Mcllvaine, Miss. 



W. 



Page 
98 
26 
26 
26 

48, 90 
16 
25 
9 
73 
90 

82, 90 
24 

24, 79 

24 

24 

108 

108 

108 

40 
16 
16 
16 
16 
99 

99 

102 

102 

45 

17 

8 

28 
73 

45 
45 
45 
64 
16 
16 
86 

9 

28, 29 

82 

83 

83, 84 
76 

Il6 



INDEX 



Mead, Daniel, Hist, of 

Greenwich, Conn 

Metcalf. Elizabeth 

Metcalf, Michael 

Miller, Amy J 

Miller, Henry 

Miller, Teresa 

Moore, Daniel 

Moore, Rev. John 

Moore, Maria 

Moore, Rev. Dr. H. H. . . 

Morrell 

Montgomery, Col. J 

Mousall, Deacon John... 

Mousall, Eunice 

Mousall, John 

Newcomb, Alethea 

Newcomb, Ellen 

Newcomb, Rev. Harvey. 
Nichols, Col. Moses.... 

Nichols, Mary 

Nichols, Samuel 

Nichols, Sarah 

Noble, Col 

Oakley, Israel 

Oakley, Mary 

Oakley, Thomas 

Oakley, Timothy 

Oakley, Zophar B 

Ogden, Moses 

Ogden, Sarah 

Onderdonk's Hist. Ja- 
maica, L. I., Church. 

Page, Rev. Reed 

Panemaquand, Charles. . . 

Parker, Deborah 

Parker, Robert 

Phillips 

Phipps' (Expedition) .... 

Place, Edwin Burr 

Piatt, Elizabeth 

Piatt. Epenetus 

Piatt, Isaac 

Piatt. Jesse 

Piatt, Judge 

117 



Page 

39 

113 
113 
24 
24 
24 
81 
64 

65 
28 

54 
28 

98 
98 
98 

25 

25 

25 

100 

"3 

"3 

113 

32 

15 
18 

14 
17 
18 
76 
7 6 

56 

95 
10 

99 
99 
39 
99 
26 

12, 55 

12, 55 

12, 55 

14 

84 



Page 

Piatt, Mary 14 

Piatt, Richard 12 

Piatt, Obadiah 49 

Piatt, Zephaniah 55 

Polhemus, Anna 52 

Polhemus, John 59 

Polhemus, Rev. Theo. J.. 51 

Poole, Jonathan 113 

Poole, Judith 114 

Poole, Sarah 113 

Prevoost, Catharina 55 

Price, Frank E 25 

Price, Thomas 25 

Randolph, Hope 74 

Randolph, Ex-Gov. T. F. . 63 

Reed, Hannah (Burr) ... 23 

Reed, Hannah Maria.... 23 

Reed, Thomas P 23 

Richardson, Ezekiel 9 8 , 99 

Richardson, Mary 98 

Richardson, Susannah... 98, 99 

Richardson, Theophilus.. 99 

Robbins, Martha 59 

Rolph, Jarvis 49 

Rooseveldt 

Rumford, Count I2 

Sanger, Judge 

Satley, Esther 94 

Sammis, Susanna 20 

Scriba, George 85, 88 

Seabering, Lairibertje 52 

Seaman, Capt. John 65 

Seaman, Hannah 65 

Sewalls' Hist, of Woburn. 

Sexton, Capt. George.... m 
Sharp's Hist, of Seymour. 

Conn 94 

Smith, Benjamin J o 

Smith, Capt. John 62 

Smith, Elizabeth 40.104 

Smith. Mary 66 

Smith. Melancthon 64 

Stark. Gen. John 105 

Strickland, Hannah 65 

Strycker, Aeltie 5- 

Strycker, Jan 5- 



INDEX 



Surtee's Hist, of Durham. 



Page 

7 



Taylor, Josephine 25 

Thompson's Hist, of Vt. . 107 

Thorne, George 55 

Throop, Gov. E. T 21 

Titus, John 13, 48 

Tooker, Dr. W. W 64 

Townsend, Henry 17 

Trumbull, Harriet S 40 

Truxton, Capt 82 

Valentine, Jane 65 

Valentine, Richard 65 

Valentine, Rich, (of Eng.) 66 

Van Asch, Wyander 51 

Van Rynvelt 51 



Page 

Walters, Samuel 18, 19 

Walbridge, Col. E in 

Wameas 10 

Werven, Catharine 51 

Whitcomb, Col. Asa 94 

White, Mr 78 

White, Judge 85 

White, Dan. C 86 

Wicks, Thomas 42, 59 

William of Orange 41.51 

Winthrop's Fleet 104 

Worthington, Elizabeth.. 94,105 

Wright, Elizabeth 59 

Wyman, Sarah 99 

York, Duke of 73 

Young, John 9, 86 



Key to Brush Family Picture on Page 6 
Reading from Left to Right 



I. 


Valentine Brush. 


13- 


2. 


Mrs. Mary Ann Brush. 


14. 


3- 


Joseph Barker. 


15- 


4- 


Zophar Brush. 


16. 


5- 


Edward Hale Brush. 


17- 


6. 


Miss Margaret Brush. 


18. 


7- 


Mrs. Phebe A. Place. 


19. 


8. 


Mrs. Susan A. Barker. 


20. 


9- 


Rev. Jesse Brush, D.D. 


21. 


10. 


Mrs. Annie E. Johnson. 


22. 


1 1. 


Mrs. Elizabeth Carman Brush. 


23- 


12. 


John R. Brush. 


24. 



Samuel Brush. 

Mrs. M. Annette Brush. 

George W. Brush, M.D. 

Herbert B. Brush. 

Mrs. Ellen Newcomb Brush. 

Frank E. Price. 

George Robert Brush. 

Mrs. Mary J. Brush. 

Mrs. Amy J. Brush. 

Abner Brush. 

Henry Wells Brush. 

Mrs. Hannah Maria Brush. 



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